Fla. Judge Grants Novartis Judgment As a Matter of Law on Warranty Claim in Aredia/Zometa Case

TAMPA, Fla. — In the wake of an Aredia/Zometa trial, a Florida federal judge has granted Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on a breach of express warranty claim, finding that plaintiff Ruth Dopson-Troutt failed to prove that such a warranty existed.

On April 11, Judge Susan C. Bucklew of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida found no legally sufficient evidentiary basis from which a reasonable jury could find that Novartis created an express warranty that Aredia and Zometa strengthens bones, not weakens them.

Dopson-Troutt was diagnosed with breast cancer, which …