Plaintiffs Suing Metabolife For Fraud Needn't Cite Testing Results

CHICAGO - A federal judge has allowed a plaintiff suing Metabolife to pursue a fraud claim without offering details of allegedly fraudulent testing because such details would be under Metabolife's control at this stage of the litigation. Talavera v. Metabolife International Inc., No. 04-CV-1629 (N.D. Ill.).

U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman of the Northern District of Illinois also rejected Metabolife's effort to dismiss Irene Talavera's claim for punitive damages.

Talavera alleges that several months after she began taking Metabolife 356 E-Z Tab, she suffered a stroke which resulted in brain damage. Talavera attributes the stroke to the presence of …