Wyeth wins summary judgment in product liability case involving Effexor

Client(s) Wyeth

Jones Day successfully obtained a summary judgment for Wyeth in a product liability action involving Wyeth's antidepressant Effexor. The Aaron plaintiff's decedent suffered from depression and committed suicide in August 2005. The estate sought recovery from Wyeth for alleged warnings and design defects based on theories of strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty. Wyeth moved for summary judgment based on, among other things, the learned intermediary doctrine and, in particular, the claim that the warnings provided to the plaintiff's decedent's prescribing physician were legally adequate under Pennsylvania's learned intermediary doctrine. The district court agreed and dismissed all claims.

Aaron v. Wyeth, No. 2:07cv14581, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14581 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 19, 2010)