Leila-Jade G. Sanchez and Taylor N. Sanchez, Minors, by and Through Josette Sanchez, Their Guardian; Josette…

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of the claims against the pharmacies, holding that they owed no common-law duty to unidentified members of the public injured by a pharmacy customer who drove under the influence of prescription drugs. It also held that the prescription-monitoring statutes and pharmacy regulations did not create a public-protection duty or support negligence per se because they were not intended to protect unidentified third parties from this type of injury. Justice Cherry, joined by Justice Saitta, dissented and would have allowed both negligence claims to proceed based on the pharmacies’ special relationship with the customer and notice of her prescription-shopping activity.