Pa. Federal Judge Retains Jurisdiction Over Zoloft Case, Says McKesson Fraudulently Joined

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the Zoloft birth defect multidistrict litigation has refused to remand an action to California state court, ruling that McKesson Corp. was fraudulently joined because plaintiffs will most likely not pursue their claims against the nondiverse distributor.

In a June 20 order, Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that while the plaintiffs may have plausible claims against McKesson, the generalized allegations and the history of the Zoloft litigation together show that plaintiffs have no intention to pursue their claims against the distributor.

D.B. was …