Minn. Judge Denies Pfizer's Summary Judgment Motion, Says No Preemption

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota judge on July 20 denied Pfizer Inc.'s motion for summary judgment, saying the manufacturer could have strengthened Zoloft's label 'at any time' to include a possible connection to suicidality. Witczak v. Pfizer Inc. No. 04-CV-2819 (D. Minn.).

Kimberly K. Witczak sued Pfizer in May 2004 in Minnesota's 4th Judicial District Court in Hennepin County. She alleges that her husband, Timothy, committed suicide in August 2003 as a direct result of using Pfizer's antidepressant Zoloft (sertraline) to help him sleep. She claims he used the drug for five weeks before hanging himself.

Witczak maintains that Pfizer failed …