On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama granted summary judgment for Goodwin Procter client Teva Pharmaceuticals USA in a products liability action that had been pending for over five years. The decision came two-and-a-half years after the motion for summary judgment was fully briefed. Goodwin has represented Teva on various matters for more than 10 years.
The plaintiff alleged that she developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare and severe hypersensitivity reaction, at age 12 as a result of ingesting Teva’s antibiotic cephalexin. The complaint asserted various claims under Alabama law, including strict liability, misrepresentation, negligence, breach of express warranty and breach of implied warranty of merchantability.
Early in the litigation, Teva prevailed on a motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s strict liability and misrepresentation claims. All remaining claims were dismissed on summary judgment.
The Goodwin litigation team was led by Joanne Gray and Jonathan Price.