Wisconsin State Judge Bars Evidence of Spoliation From Upcoming Actos Trial

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin state judge has refused to sanction Takeda Pharmaceuticals America Inc. for failing to preserve evidence relating to its diabetes drug Actos and has barred a plaintiff from introducing evidence or argument regarding spoliation in his upcoming bladder cancer trial.

On March 2, Judge Richard J. Sankovitz of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court ruled that the plaintiff failed to show that Takeda knew, or should have known, that Actos bladder cancer litigation was a distinct possibility before mid-2010 and, in response, intentionally purged the files of its executives.

The trial, which was set to begin on March …