Judge: Ongoing Paxil Research Warrants Relitigation of Suicide Claims

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A Wyoming judge has denied a plaintiff's motion to give preclusive effect to a 2001 jury finding that Paxil can cause suicidal behavior, stating that five years later it is possible that scientific knowledge on that alleged aspect of the drug has changed. Van Dyke v. GlaxoSmithKline, No. 05-153 (D. Wyo.).

In a Nov. 1 order, Judge Alan B. Johnson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming denied plaintiff Linda Van Dyke's request to estop GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from relitigating issues of general causation and fault in Van Dyke's products liability and wrongful death lawsuit.