On October 5, 2022, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) transferred[1] some 66 autism and ADHD lawsuits[2] to Senior District Judge Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York, thus consolidating all such acetominophen birth defect cases in a mass tort.[3] The case specifically concerns the lack of warning regarding in utero use. On November 19 Judge Cote, among other matters, ruled against Walmart's preemption argument (which is often raised in pharmaceutical mass tort cases). Judge Cote likewise ruled against Johnson & Johnson in April 2023.[4] Given the significant media attention and advertising the class action has been receiving, the number of plaintiffs is widely anticipated to considerably increase.[5][6]
The case was thrown out December 18, 2023,[7] with Judge Cote writing "“The unstructured approach adopted by the plaintiffs’ experts permitted cherry-picking, allowed a results-driven analysis, and obscured the complexities, inconsistencies, and weaknesses in the underlying data..."[8]
- ^ "TRANSFER ORDER" (PDF). UNITED STATES JUDICIAL PANEL on MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ Pierson, Brendan (2022-10-06). "Mass tort launched for claims that acetaminophen caused autism, ADHD". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ Jackson, Irvin (2022-10-06). "Acetaminophen Lawsuits Over Autism and ADHD Risks Centralized in Federal MDL". AboutLawsuits.com. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ "Acetaminophen on trial over possible links to autism, ADHD". Spectrum | Autism Research News. April 26, 2023.
- ^ Auchmuty, Matthew (2022-11-20). "Settlements for Tylenol Autism Lawsuits". Dolman Law Group. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ Miller, Ronald V.; Jr. (2022-11-19). "Tylenol Autism Lawsuit". Lawsuit Information Center. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
- ^ Mulvaney, Erin. "Court Rejects Claims Linking Tylenol to Autism, ADHD". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
- ^ "IN RE: Acetaminophen – ASD-ADHD Products Liability Litigation" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-01-03.