Zantac lawsuits erupt as judge's ties to defendant's law firm spark conflict claims
A legal dispute over Zantac has taken a new turn as lawyers challenge the judge overseeing the cases. Judge Joshua Roberts has faced criticism for his handling of the litigation, which involves over 100,000 dismissed claims. The controversy centres on his connections to a law firm representing one of the defendants. The Zantac lawsuits began after Valisure LLC, a testing lab, claimed the heartburn drug could produce unsafe levels of NDMA when ingested. Thousands of cases were filed against manufacturers like GlaxoSmithKline. However, the FDA later rejected Valisure’s methods, calling their testing conditions unrealistic.
More than 100,000 claims in Delaware and Florida were dismissed after judges ruled the expert testimony unreliable. The core issue remains which scientific evidence should be allowed in court. Judge Roberts, who manages the mass tort program in Philadelphia, has drawn scrutiny. His wife, Shannon McClure, is a partner at Blank Rome, a firm defending Apotex—a company named in the litigation. Though Roberts does not work directly with Blank Rome, lawyers from Keller Postman have appealed his refusal to step aside. They argue his ties create a conflict of interest and have asked the state Superior Court to remove him from their cases. Apotex, represented by Blank Rome, now faces just one remaining lawsuit in Philadelphia, down from over 500 originally filed.
The appeal against Judge Roberts is ongoing, with the Superior Court set to review the request. If successful, the ruling could reshape the remaining Zantac cases. For now, the litigation’s future hinges on which evidence courts will accept and who will oversee the trials.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
