OPLA Abrogates Fraudulent Misrepresentation Claim in Prozac Birth Defect Case, Ohio Federal Judge Rules

CINCINNATI — The Ohio Products Liability Act abrogates a fraudulent misrepresentation claim asserted against Eli Lilly & Co. in a Prozac birth defect case because it sounds in failure to warn rather than active misrepresentation, an Ohio federal judge has ruled.

On a March 12 order, Judge Michael R. Barrett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio also dismissed the plaintiff’s defective manufacturing/construction claim as inadequately pled.

Brandy Johnson sued Eli Lilly, alleging that her ingestion of Prozac while pregnant caused her son to be born with certain birth defects that led to his death.