Novartis Not Barred from Removing Complaint Prior to Service, Federal Judge Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge has denied a plaintiff motion to remand a Zometa case, finding Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp.’s (NYSE: NVS) removal of the case before it was served with the complaint was not improper.

On March 6, Judge Maxine M. Chesney of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found nothing in the relevant federal law prohibiting a defendant from removing a complaint prior to service.

Charlotte and Werner Maassen sued Novartis in the San Francisco Superior Court on Jan. 6, alleging that Charlotte’s Zometa treatments caused her to develop osteonecrosis of the jaw. …