Novartis Says Judge Poised to Dismiss Ritalin Lawsuit in California DJ 13.3.2001 SAN DIEGO -- Novartis AG's U.S. unit said a federal judge is on the verge of dismissing a class-action lawsuit filed in September alleging that the drug maker and the American Psychiatric Association conspired to expand the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

East Hanover, N.J.-based Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., maker of the drug Ritalin, said in a prepared statement that the judge found the lawsuit so vague and unclear that it doesn't state a legal claim. If those defects aren't fixed, the case will be dismissed, Novartis quoted the judge, adding that the plaintiffs have until April 16 to fix the defects.

The company called the plaintiff's claim that Novartis (NVS) and the group of psychiatrists attempted to "create" a disease "ludicrous."

Novartis claimed free-speech grounds in its effort to get the case dismissed. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs is a high-profile Washington attorney who belongs to the Church of Scientology, whose tenets include opposition to psychiatry. The defendants has said much of the lawsuits' claims mirror those in literature distributed by an arm of the church.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in New Jersey and Texas.

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