Pa. Federal Judge Retains Jurisdiction Over ParaGard IUD Action

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has refused to remand a lawsuit targeting the ParaGard intrauterine contraceptive device, ruling that the non-diverse defendants were fraudulently joined because they did not participate in the research, development, design, manufacture or sale of the device.

In a March 27 order, Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania added that even if the non-manufacturer defendants played a role with the pharmacovigilance of the ParaGard device, there is no cause of action for breach of a duty of “pharmacovigilance,” Judge Bartle added.

Utah citizen Kathryn Reith and …