Miss. Supreme Court Orders Propulsid Claims Severed, Remanded

JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Supreme Court Feb. 19 overturned a trial court decision allowing the joinder of 56 plaintiffs who asserted claims against Propulsid manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceutica and their physicians, finding that the plaintiffs' claims did not arise out of the same transaction. Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc., et al., v. Colanda Armond, et al., No. 2003-IA-00398-SCT (Miss. Supr. Ct.).

The state high court's en banc decision stated that the broad requirements of Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 20 allowing joinder are not unlimited.

'The record in the current case reflects that the 56 plaintiffs, inter alia: have different medical histories; …