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Mississippi court again orders separate trials in Propulsid case
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday overruled a Holmes County judge and ordered separate trials for plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the makers of the heartburn drug Propulsid.
Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc. and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson filed the appeal in 2002 after Circuit Judge Jannie Lewis refused to separate the cases.
The Supreme Court noted that of the 31 plaintiffs in the Holmes County case, only three were from Holmes County. The court said the others lived elsewhere in Mississippi.
Justice Jess H. Dickinson, writing Thursday for the Supreme Court, said the cases involving plaintiffs outside Holmes County should be transferred to other courts. He also said there should be separate trials for the three Holmes County plaintiffs.
Since February, the justices have been ordering separate trials not only in Propulsid cases but also asbestos lawsuits.
The Supreme Court halted proceedings in Propulsid cases last year until it resolved the issue of venue and class action raised by Janssen Pharmaceutica and Johnson & Johnson.
The plaintiffs claimed taking the drug caused heart problems, anxiety attacks and other conditions.
Attorneys for the drug maker have challenged decisions that allowed plaintiffs to join in the lawsuits even if they were from outside the area where the trial was being heard. The company said each plaintiff's case should stand on its own and be held in the county where the plaintiff lives.
In all the cases, lawyers for the plaintiffs said the claims were triggered by same side effect from Propulsid, which they said was the common thread linking the complaints.
In February, the Supreme Court set limits on how plaintiffs can join some mass litigation lawsuits in the state. That decision came in a similar lawsuit filed against Janssen Pharmaceutica in Jones County.
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