Ill. State Judge Refuses to Impose Sanctions on Takeda for Spoliation of Evidence in Actos Case

CHICAGO — An Illinois state judge has refused to impose sanctions on Takeda Pharmaceuticals America Inc. for failure to preserve evidence in an Actos bladder cancer case, finding the plaintiff failed to show how she was prejudiced by the drug maker’s destruction of certain custodial files.

In an April 18 opinion, Judge Deborah M. Dooling of the Cook County Circuit Court explained that she cannot presume that the plaintiff was prejudiced merely because potentially relevant documents were destroyed.

William Whitlatch suffered from type II diabetes and was prescribed Actos in April 2001. In April 2005, he was diagnosed with bladder …