Preview:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA HUNTINGTON DIVISION J. C., a minor by and through his mother and next friend, MICHELLE COOK; I. Z., a minor by and through his mother and next friend, MARY MASTERS; M. M., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, JEANETTE MASKILL; D. M., a minor by and through his mother and next friend, REBECCA MARDORF; J. S., a minor by and through his mother and next friend, CINDY SIMPSON-DURAND; H. S., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, SHANNON SCALISI; E. D., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, DENICE DARCY; C. B., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, LALA FIELDS; L. V., a minor by and through his mother and next friend, LORIE VINSON; J. E., a minor by and through his mother and next friend, MARLO CHEEKS; A. N., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, HEATHER NORFOLK; T. S., a minor by and through his Mother and next friend, DAWN SKURRY; A. H., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, HEATHER SLABAUGH; A. W., a minor child by and through his mother and next friend, SHERI WIDNER;

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04103)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04112)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04114)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04111)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04115)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04116)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04105)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04113)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04117)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04110)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04109)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04106)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04118)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04120)

K. W., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, ANGEL WOLFERTZ; H. C., a minor by and through her mother and next friend, MELISSA SHROYER; C. S., a minor child by and through his mother and next friend, KIMBERLY LANCASTER; D. B., a minor by and through his mother and next friend, NINA BRUMFIELD,

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04122)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04121)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04123)

(Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-04108)

Plaintiffs, v. PFIZER, INC., ROERIG, a division of Pfizer, Inc., and GREENSTONE, LLC f/k/a Greenstone, LTD. Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Pending in each of the above-styled cases is Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand (ECF No. 6)1 and Defendants' Motion to Stay (ECF No. 9). For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs' Motion to Remand and DENIES Defendants' Motion to Stay. I. Factual Background

The eighteen cases listed in this Order were initially brought through a single complaint in the Circuit Court of Wayne County, West Virginia. As directed by West Virginia Rule of Civil Procedure 3(a), the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Wayne County assigned each of the original nineteen plaintiffs listed on the Complaint a separate case number, and assessed

Citations to Electronic Case File numbers are to the numbers assigned in the first-listed case, 3:12-cv-04103, but refer and apply to the same documents filed in the other seventeen cases.

1

2

supplemental filing fees. See ECF No. 14, Ex. A (Affidavit of Milton J. Ferguson). Plaintiffs were not required to file separate complaints. Id. Plaintiffs are women who took the drug sertraline hydrochloride during pregnancy, and the minor children resulting from those pregnancies ("Plaintiffs"). Plaintiffs are residents of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Oregon, South Carolina, Ohio, and New York. Defendants are Pfizer, Inc., Roerig, a divison of Pfizer, Inc., and Greenstone, LLC, a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc., which manufacture and distribute sertraline hydrochloride, which is also known by its brand name, Zoloft ("Defendants"). Defendants Pfizer and Roerig are citizens of New York and Delaware, and Defendant Greenstone is a citizen of New Jersey and Delaware. See Compl.

Download 47382.pdf

West Virginia Law