Facts

Allen Thomas sued Abbott Laboratories, Fournier Laboratories Ireland Ltd., Abbott Pharmaceuticals PR Ltd., Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, and Merck & Co. Inc., concerning the drugs Tripilix and Zetia.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff alleged that, on June 2004, his primary care physician, Dr. Steven Lake, diagnosed him with high cholesterol, and initially placed him on Lipitor, a statin drug. However, because plaintiff was statin-intolerant, Dr. Lake took him off Lipitor and placed him on the drugs Tripilix and Zetia.

Plaintiff alleged that Abbott manufactures Tripilix, which is used to treat cholesterol, while Merck manufactures Zetia, another drug used as an adjunct to diet, to reduce levels of total cholesterol. Plaintiff alleged that he continued to take the drugs until March 24, 2010 when he was admitted to the hospital with acute pancreatitis. Plaintiff alleged that he developed pancreatitis as a result of the drugs. Plaintiff then asserted claims against Abbott and Merck for strict liability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, untrue or misleading advertising, untrue or misleading advertising, unfair competition, and negligence.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendant Merck denied plaintiff's allegations, and asserted various affirmative defenses. Defendant Abbott moved to dismiss plaintiff's claims for breach of express warranty, untrue or misleading advertising, and unfair competition. Defendant Abbott's motion was granted, and plaintiff subsequently agreed to dismiss those claims against Merck. Then, defendants Abbott and Merck moved for summary judgment on plaintiff's remaining claims against them.

Result

The court granted defendant Abbott's motion to dismiss several of Thomas' claims. As such, the remaining claims pending against Abbott and Merck included the first claim for strict liability, the fourth claim for breach of implied warranty claim, and the seventh and tenth claims for negligence. Ultimately, the court found that Thomas' failure to demonstrate medical causation was fatal to his claims, and the court granted summary judgment in favor of both Abbott and Merck on the remaining claims against them.