Seroquel Diabetes Suit Scheduled to Begin June 29 in Delaware State Court

Following the dismissal of two Seroquel diabetes suits that were scheduled for trial last month in federal court, the first case that will be heard by a jury is now scheduled to begin June 29, 2009, in Delaware state court.

Seroquel lawsuits have been filed on behalf of over 15,000 people in state and federal courts throughout the country alleging that the atypical antipsychotic caused the plaintiffs to develop diabetes or other injuries.

  
As of November 5, 2008, AstraZeneca indicated that 5,854 lawsuits involving 5,858 plaintiffs were filed in federal court and an additional 3,141 lawsuits were filed in state courts involving another 9,103 plaintiffs.

The state court cases are pending in Delaware, New York and New Jersey.
 
All federal Seroquel lawsuits filed in various states throughout the country have been consolidated in a Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida for pretrial litigation with U.S. District Judge Anne Conway.
 
The federal court scheduling order called for the first trials to begin in February 2009. However, the first two cases selected for trial were dismissed by Judge Conway in January on the basis of general causation, as the Court found that the plaintiffs could not establish a causal link under Florida law between their development of diabetes and Seroquel use.

With no trial date currently scheduled for the other cases in the federal MDL, the first Seroquel suit to be submitted to a jury could be a Delaware state court case filed by Nina Scaife, who alleges that she was diagnosed with diabetes as a side effect of Seroquel.

AstraZeneca’s Seroquel lawyers have taken the position that Scaife’s diabetes was not caused by the drug. They intend to argue that she had a medical history that predisposed her to diabetes, including her race, obesity, genetic factors, hypertension and the use of cigarettes.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Joseph Slights III is hearing arguments this week on AstraZeneca’s attempt to preclude three of Scaife’s doctors from testifying that Seroquel caused her diabetes. If the judge rules in AstraZeneca’s favor, it may lead to the dismissal of the case in Delaware.