Christina Spicer  |  August 1, 2014

Category: Legal News

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Lexapro birth defectsPlaintiffs in the Lexapro class action lawsuit appealed the decision of a Massachusetts district court to dismiss the case.

Lead plaintiffs Randy and Bonnie Marcus, alleged in their original class action lawsuit that the drug maker Forest Laboratories Inc. illegally promoted the antidepressant Lexapro for adolescent use in violation of Food Drug and Cosmetic Act prior to 2009. Forest Laboratories successfully argued that the California safe harbor provisions applied to the allegedly improper use of the drug because the FDA “expressly authorized” administration of Lexapro to adolescents in 2009, and the case was dismissed.

The plaintiffs filed a brief with the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals this week appealing the dismissal of their class action lawsuit, arguing the Massachusetts court decision was “based on a misunderstanding of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and an untenable notion of what ‘express authorization’ means.”

The plaintiffs reiterated their allegation that Forest Laboratories misrepresented Lexapro’s effectiveness in treating depression in adolescents, which did not allow parents to make informed decisions about their children’s medical care and violated California consumer protection laws.

“When the FDA approves a drug for a specific indication, it does not mean that the drug manufacturer is allowed to market that drug however it sees fit,” the plaintiffs argued in their brief. The plaintiffs also claimed that the Massachusetts court improperly applied the California safe harbor defense arguing that the defense cannot be applied to Forest Laboratories’ marketing of Lexapro for adolescent use. The plaintiffs argued that the safe harbor provisions do not apply unless another statute expressly authorizes the conduct and “if the FDA’s regulation of the drug industry expressly relies on the enforcement of state law, then it would be impossible for the FDA to also expressly authorize conduct that violates California consumer protection law… and, absent express authorization, there is no safe harbor.” The plaintiffs also claimed the court misinterpreted case law in its decision to dismiss the class action.

The plaintiffs originally filed their class action lawsuit in February 2013. In March, Forest Laboratories settled a similar lawsuit in Missouri to for $10.4 million. In 2010, Forest Laboratories agreed to pay $313 million to settle claims that other drugs it manufactured marketed violated the False Claims Act and pleaded guilty to related federal charges.

Lead plaintiffs, Randy and Bonni Marcus and the appellants are represented by Michael L. Baum and R. Brent Wisner of Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman PC, and by Christopher L. Coffin and Nicholas R. Rockforte of Pendley Baudin & Coffin LLP.

The appeals case is Marcus et al v. Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al., Case No. 14-1290, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

The Lexapro Marketing Class Action Lawsuit is Randy Marcus, et al. v. Forest Laboratories Inc., et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-11343, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The Lexapro and Celexa Marketing MDL is In re: Celexa and Lexapro Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Case No. 1:09-md-02067, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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One thought on Lexapro Class Action Lawsuit Dismissal Appealed

  1. tonya cypret says:

    my daughter took Lexapro and gain a lot of weight from it.,when they first had a law suit on this I try to fill a claim and was never called back ,I filled a claim on all there depress meds because the doctors just kept give them to my daughter ,but like I said never got a call back

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