On August 22, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected liability in a case that attempted to hold a pharmaceutical manufacturer liable for injuries caused by a drug it neither manufactured nor sold. In reversing a $3 million jury verdict, the appeals court held that federal law prevented the defendant from adding a warning about the alleged association between its drug, paroxetine, and suicide in adults. The decision was a victory for WLF, which filed an amicus curiae brief in the case. The appeal arose from a suit by Wendy Dolin, who alleged that her husband’s 2010 suicide was caused by ingesting paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) widely used to treat depression and anxiety. But GSK had asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permission to modify Paxil’s label to warn of an increased risk of suicide. The FDA repeatedly refused that request. The appeals court held that, under settled conflict preemption principles, federal law preempted the plaintiff’s tort claim. On May 30, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari filed by Dolin.
