Mo. Federal Judge Remands 64-Plaintiff Lipitor Action, Says Pfizer Failed to Prove Fraudulent Misjoinder

ST. LOUIS — A Missouri federal judge has remanded a Lipitor action, ruling that joinder of the out-of-state plaintiffs’ claims with the in-state plaintiffs’ claims does not constitute fraudulent misjoinder because the claims all arise from the same transaction or occurrence and involve common questions of law or fact.

In an April 29 order, Judge Carole E. Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri also awarded the plaintiffs attorneys’ fees and costs incurred as a result of Pfizer’s removal of the action, ruling that the drug maker had no reasonable basis for doing so.

On …