Practice Area Overview

Civil Litigation and Criminal Defense

Individuals and companies under FDA, USDA, and DEA jurisdiction are subject to stringent public health statutes.  Violation of these statutes carries the risk of civil liability, as well as criminal liability.  At Olsson Frank Weeda, we represent businesses and individuals in all FDA, USDA, and DEA litigation.  When an agency implements policies and procedures that are beyond the true scope of its authority, we are prepared to take the federal government to court and zealously defend our clients.  Our lawyers understand how to investigate charges, build a case, and muster facts that support our clients, whether before the federal courts or the agencies’ administrative law judges.

Protecting Our Clients

We have established a reputation for effective litigation in the defense of our clients’ rights.  Our attorneys have successfully:

• Defended individuals and firms charged with civil and criminal violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; Federal Meat Inspection Act; Poultry Products Inspection Act; and related laws

• Represented the interests of our clients in many lawsuits challenging FDA approval decisions involving generic drugs.

• Challenged USDA’s procedure for adopting safe handling and labeling regulations for meat and poultry products

• Defended a multi-million dollar civil penalty claim before the USDA

• Defended a Lanham Act suit involving advertising claims for powered wheelchairs

• Represented listed chemical distributors in registration proceedings before the DEA

• Settled USDA charges of illegally importing plant and animal materials without adverse publicity for publicly traded corporations

• Represented Indian tribes in an action against the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the federal government’s obligations to interact with sovereign Indian nations on a government-to-government basis

Standing Up for the Food, Drug, Medical Device, and Agriculture Industries

Our clients operate in pervasively regulated industries.  Nevertheless, they still have rights during government inspections and investigations.  We know where the boundaries of the government’s authority lie, and how to educate the judge about what really happened.  Seeking the truth can be an adversarial proceeding.  We are prepared for that fight.

Litigation Attorneys:

• Philip C. Olsson
• Arthur Y. Tsien
• Stephen D. Terman
• David L. Durkin
• Tish E. Pahl
• Brett T. Schwemer
• Jacqueline H. Eagle
• Elliot Belilos
• Kathryn E. Balmford
• Jonathan M. Weinrieb
• Susan D. Bastone