Ohio Federal Judge Addresses In Limine Motions in Depakote Birth Defect Action

CLEVELAND — Abbott Laboratories Inc. may present evidence of plaintiffs’ pre-pregnancy knowledge of risks in a Depakote birth defect action, an Ohio federal judge has ruled, but the drug maker may not use that evidence to blame plaintiffs or suggest they were negligent in any way.

In a Jan. 5 order addressing several in limine motions, Judge Christopher Boyko of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio also excluded references to Abbott’s post-conception labeling and post-conception communications with the FDA, but allowed plaintiffs to present evidence of pre-conception foreign labeling and marketing efforts pre-dating the birth of …