Federal Rule Can't Supplant State's Statute of Limitations to Revive Claims

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge has dismissed as time-barred claims that a now-deceased Kentucky woman's use of Bextra and Vioxx caused her to suffer vision loss and a stroke, saying that procedural federal law does not supplant state substantive law concerning the limitations period for reviving an action. In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699; O'Bryan v. Pfizer Inc., et al., No. 06-3172 (N.D. Calif.).

On July 5, Judge Charles R. Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied a motion to substitute Donna Marie O'Bryan …