Sidney Hillman Health Center of Rochester v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

Dist. Ct. erred in dismissing on statute of limitations grounds plaintiffs’ class action alleging that defendants violated RICO through efforts to unlawfully market anticonvulsant medication (Depakote) for ineffective and unsafe “off-label” uses that had not been approved by FDA. While defendants argued that instant 2013 action fell outside applicable 4-year limitation period since it sought damages for injuries going back to 1998, when class members began reimbursing for off-label prescriptions for Depakote, Dist. Ct. erred in resolving statute of limitations issue prior to parties conducting any discovery. Moreover, record was unclear from contents of complaint as to when class members actually became aware that they were paying for off-label use of said drug, or when class members should have discovered that they had paid more for off-label uses of said drug than it otherwise would have had to pay in absence of any unlawful marketing scheme.