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Foreseeable Harm to Third Parties Keeps Claim Against Drug Makers Alive

By Janice G. Inman
May 28, 2013

Alabama's Supreme Court in January rendered an unusual and potentially far-reaching decision in a case pitting a consumer against several drug manufacturers. While its holding in Wyeth Inc. v. Weeks, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 2 (1/11/13), applies only to cases brought in Alabama, the court's decision may lead to that state's becoming the preferred forum for certain types of drug litigation: those in which a consumer is injured by a generic version of a patented name-brand medication. In addition, while not dispositive, that court's rationale might prove persuasive in other jurisdictions.

An Allegation of Fraud

The Weeks case was instituted by a man who suffered with acid reflux. He took the medication metoclopramide, a generic version of the drug Reglan, which is made by Wyeth LLC, Pfizer Inc. and Schwarz Pharma Inc. The drug products the plaintiff actually took were manufactured by generic drug makers Teva Pharmaceuticals and Actavis Elizabeth LLC. These allegedly caused him to develop the movement disorder tardive dyskinesia, which causes sufferers to make involuntary repetitive movements, like facial tics or rapid finger twitching.

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