Walton v. Bayer Corp.

In action against several defendants (all, but one which were citizens outside of Illinois) that had been removed to federal court alleging that defendants failed to warn plaintiff of dangerous side effects of Yazmin manufactured by affiliate of Bayer defendants and purchased by plaintiff at pharmacy operated by Illinois-based Niemann Foods, Inc., Dist. Ct. did not err in denying plaintiff’s motion to remand case back to state court after determining that defendant-Niemann had been fraudulently joined as defendant and dismissing Niemann from case in order to restore complete diversity. Learned intermediary doctrine served to preclude plaintiff from obtaining any recovery from Niemann since, in ordinary case, prescribing doctor qualifies as learned intermediary to adjudge drug’s suitability for particular patent and since pharmacies cannot be expected to warn their customers of possible defects and dangers of prescription drugs. Moreover, plaintiff failed to allege that Niemann had any knowledge that plaintiff had pre-existing condition that made instant drug contraindicated for her. Plaintiff also failed to establish that Niemann and other defendants had common defense that would require remand to state court for determination of merits of case.