Ill. Appellate Court Allows Out-Of-State Paxil Birth Defect Plaintiffs to Proceed Against GSK

CHICAGO — An Illinois appellate court has affirmed that Illinois has personal jurisdiction over GlaxoSmithKline LLC as to claims asserted by out-of-state plaintiffs in a Paxil birth defect case because the drug maker has had substantial in-state contacts via clinical trials conducted in Illinois.

On Aug. 26, the Illinois Court of Appeals, First District, further found that the plaintiffs’ claims arise from GSK’s acts or alleged omissions related to those clinical trials.

Eight minor plaintiffs and their mothers allege that the minors suffered catastrophic birth defects as a result of their mothers’ ingestion of Paxil while pregnant. Two pairs of …