Federal, Not State, Rule of Evidence Governs Motion In Limine, Judge Rules

NEW YORK - Federal Rule of Evidence 407, rather than its state counterpart, should apply to a drug maker's motion to exclude a new warning label from being proffered in a Novartis injury case because the plaintiff failed to show that the federal rule cannot be rationally classified as procedural, a New York federal judge has held. Hogan v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., No. 06-260 (E.D. N.Y.).

On April 6, Judge Brian M. Cogan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York explained that the federal rule is valid because it governs only the manner and the …