Sales Reps Improperly Joined to Celebrex Suit, Judge Rules

BEAUMONT, Texas - A Celebrex case that named four Pfizer sales representatives as defendants will remain in federal court despite the plaintiff's contention that they were negligent in their representations about the drug's safety profile, a judge in Texas has ruled. Pickens v. Pfizer Inc., et al., No. 05-528 (E.D. Texas).

Judge Howell Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas held Aug. 18 that the case should not be remanded to state court because the non-diverse sales representatives were improperly joined to the suit.

The four Pfizer sales reps were named in a lawsuit filed …