Distributor McKesson Not Fraudulently Joined to Paxil Birth Defect Case, Calif. Federal Judge Rules

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California federal judge has remanded a Paxil birth defect case to state court, finding in-state defendant McKesson Corp. was not fraudulently joined because the plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged a causal link between the distributor and the alleged injuries.

On Jan. 16, Judge Jennifer Thurston of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California rejected defendants’ assertion that the learned intermediary shields McKesson from liability, explaining that under California law, the doctrine does not bar failure-to-warn claims against distributors.

Amber Moore sued McKesson and GlaxoSmithKline on behalf of herself and her minor daughter, alleging that …