Friday April 27 U.S. judge tosses suit alleging Ritalin promotion SAN DIEGO, Calif., April 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge in San Diego this week dismissed a lawsuit claiming that psychiatrists conspired with the maker of the drug Ritalin and others to promote its use for treating children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The judge also ruled that the plaintiffs must pay the legal fees of the defendants, including Ritalin manufacturer Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., a patient support group called Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and the American Psychiatric Association, the association said on Friday.

Attention deficit disorder is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder of childhood, affecting an estimated 3 to 5 percent of school-age children, 75 percent of them boys, according to the medical group.

Ritalin, which has been around for more than 40 years, is a central nervous system stimulant used to address the neurochemical problems underlying the disorder.

In the United States and Britain there is a debate over the use of Ritalin in children, with some people claiming it has a mind-numbing effect while others have attested it was beneficial for their children.

In a ruling announced on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster dismissed the case with prejudice, which prohibits it from being refiled, saying the complaint was without legal basis, and activities by defendants to advance medical understanding and treatment of the disorder were free speech protected under a special California statute, the defendants said.

Last month, Brewster rejected the complaints in the class action lawsuit and gave the plaintiffs until April 16 to correct deficiencies in their dossier.

The plaintiffs did not make any attempt to correct the defects in their complaint, instead announcing their intent to appeal the judge's ruling, according to Novartis.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, which include the Washington D.C. firm of Coale Cooley Lietz McInerny, were not available for comment.

"This is a victory for the scientific process, for sound medicine and for a free and open discussion of medical issues,'' Dr. Daniel Borenstein, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the American Psychiatric Association, said in statement.

He hailed the ruling as a victory for parents who want to act in the best interest of their children by seeking appropriate treatment for a common disorder.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Swiss health group Novartis AG, said in a reaction that Brewster's ruling vindicated its view that the Ritalin class action lawsuits were unmerited attempts to promote through the courts a position which had been repeatedly rejected by the scientific community.

The Psychiatric Association said the San Diego ruling throws into question whether similar lawsuits filed in Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, will go forward.

ecooley@cmmj.com/ State Bar of Massachusetts)(participated in Lerma raid & RTC vs lerma) -- CONFIRMED CO$ There is also a "Cooley Law School", but I did not check that out yet.

*** Here's an interesting comment from Coale (on Representative Christopher Cox (California website) on "frivolous lawsuits" (pot-kettle-black? look at the case he just presented as mentioned above!) I'm not sure if the Ritalin was class action, but it pertains to frivolous, nonetheless. Also, Rep. Cox must be fond of Coale, being an article about him is on his official website.

http://www.house.gov/chriscox/press/coverage/2000/businessins.htm Business Insurance
Monday, August 14, 2000 Class-action reform debated WASHINGTON -- Federal and state judges need to be more willing to throw out frivolous lawsuits, a plaintiffs attorney contended during a discussion of class-action law last week.

Few judges "have the guts" to dismiss frivolous cases, said John P. Coale, partner in the Washington law firm Coale, Cooley, Lietz, McInerny & Broadus P.C.

"It's their job. They're the ones who should slap down the lawyers, and they don't do it," Mr. Coale said during the discussion, which was sponsored by the National Assn. of Manufacturers. He also criticized the recent class-action suit against tobacco companies in Florida, in which a jury levied $145 billion in punitive damages (BI, July 24; July 17).

The verdict "will never be upheld," said Mr. Coale, who himself has participated in high-profile cases against tobacco companies. He said "an error a week" had been made in the case as the judge consistently ruled against the defendants. "If you win a clean case," the verdict will stand, he said. "There's no way in hell that verdict is ever going to be upheld."

Mr. Coale debated class-action lawsuit reform last week with Victor Schwartz, senior partner in the Washington law firm Crowell & Moring L.L.P. and general counsel to the American Tort Reform Assn. Mr. Schwartz suggested so-called know-your-lawyer legislation -- expected to be introduced by Rep. Chris Cox, R-Calif. -- as one way to curb abuses in class-action litigation. Such legislation calls for attorneys in class-action suits to get permission to represent everyone in the class being formed and to notify all members of the class what the plaintiffs -- and the attorney -- will receive if the suit is successful.

end Feisty

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