Pa. Federal Judge Dismisses Zostavax Actions for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed two Zostavax injury actions filed by Florida residents, ruling that because the alleged injuries did not occur in Florida and were not related to any contact Merck had with that state, personal jurisdiction is lacking.

In the Jan. 7 order, Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania explained that for purposes of personal jurisdiction, the court “must look to the place where the injury occurred, not to the place where it was diagnosed.”

Florida residents Norma Stanton and Sandra Morris filed separate actions against …