N.J. High Court Upholds Dismissal of 2,076 Accutane Cases

TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Supreme Court has upheld a trial court’s dismissal of more than 2,000 Accutane cases, holding that the court’s exclusion of plaintiffs’ experts’ causation testimony was “well-supported and well-reasoned.”

In an Aug. 1 opinion, the high court found the trial court’s “rigorous gatekeeping” was necessary because the experts’ novel theory of causation contravened consistent findings of no causal association between Accutane and Crohn’s disease.

Plaintiffs in the multicounty litigation cases allege they developed Crohn's disease as a result of taking Accutane (isotretinoin), a prescription acne drug manufactured by defendants Hoffman-La Roche Inc. and Roche Laboratories …