Did Rite-Aid breach an express warranty?

Dr. Ronald Geckler diagnosed Ellen Levy-Gray with Lyme disease and prescribed doxycycline. Geckler told Levy-Gray that while taking the drug, she must stop nursing her son, but he provided her with no other information. Levy-Gray had the prescription filled at a Rite- Aid pharmacy she knew and trusted. With the medication, the pharmacy included its own pamphlet, called “Rite Advice.” The cover page said, “Inside is everything you need to know about your prescription. It covers everything in writing from dosage to side effects.” The inside of the pamphlet stated, in part:

IMPORTANT NOTE: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS INTENDED TO SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR, THE EXPERTISE AND JUDGMENT OF YOUR PHYSICIAN, PHARMACIST, OR OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL.
HOW TO TAKE THIS MEDICATION: Take each dose with a full glass of water (4 oz. or 120 ml) or more. Take with food or milk if stomach upset occurs unless your doctor directs you otherwise.

Doxycycline immediately upset Levy-Gray’s stomach, so she began to take the medicine with milk. In order to maintain her breast milk so that she could resume nursing when the treatment ended, Levy-Gray also consumed eight glasses of milk per day, grilled cheese sandwiches, ice cream, and so forth. Because her Lyme disease did not improve, her brother, a doctor in another specialty, recommended that she stop using dairy products. Her symptoms briefly improved, but ultimately she was diagnosed with post-Lyme syndrome, a chronic autoimmune response.
Levy-Gray sued Rite-Aid for breach of an express warranty. She claimed that the instructions to take Doxycycline with milk rendered the drug ineffective and caused her chronic condition. At trial, her expert witness testified that taking dairy products with the drug prevented the drug from being absorbed into the body. Rite-Aid’s expert stated any loss of absorption was modest and had no effect on her treatment. The company also claimed that the pamphlet could not have been part of the basis of the bargain because Levy-Gray never saw it until after she bought the medication.

The jury found that Rite-Aid had breached a warranty and awarded Levy-Gray $250,000. Rite-Aid appealed; the intermediate appeals court affirmed, and the state’s highest court took the case.