Pa. Zoloft MDL Judge Remands Consolidated Case, Finding ‘Palpable Connection’ Between Claims

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge has remanded a Zoloft birth defects case to Missouri state court, finding that the 25 plaintiff families did not impermissibly and fraudulently misjoin their cases into one action to defeat federal jurisdiction.

Judge Cynthia Rufe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found “there may be a palpable connection between the plaintiffs' claims against the manufacturers as they all relate to the same drug and injuries and the manufacturers' knowledge of the risks of the drug.”

In the underlying case, 25 families from 18 different states filed a single …