Judge Dismisses 'Dispensable' Defendants from Meridia Suit

CLEVELAND - A judge has dismissed a doctor and family medical practice from a Meridia injury case, determining that they are dispensable parties that can be pursued under state law malpractice statutes and shouldn't be considered in a jurisdictional analysis whether they were properly joined or not. Sugar v. Abbott Laboratories, et al., No. 06-8000 (N.D. Ohio).

U.S. District Court Judge James S. Gwin of the Northern District of Ohio ruled May 29 that Lois Sugar's lawsuit should remain in his court because the healthcare defendants do not represent indispensable parties despite being accused jointly and severally of causing Sugar's …