Inadequate Warning Claims in Zoloft Birth Defect Case Barred by Mich. Law, W. Va. Appeals Court Rules

CHARLESTON, W. Va. — A West Virginia appeals court has upheld an award of summary judgment to Pfizer in a Zoloft birth defect action, finding the failure-to-warn claim is governed by Michigan law, which forecloses such claims in cases of FDA-approved drugs where the manufacturer complied with the agency’s labeling requirements.

On Nov. 1, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals further affirmed that the plaintiff’s strict liability and negligence claims fail because they turn upon Pfizer’s allegedly inadequate warnings and are thus also foreclosed by Michigan law.

M.M. is one of 19 minor plaintiffs who allege they sustained birth …