529 S.W.3d 795
Mo.2017Background
- Schmidt, born with spina bifida, sued Abbott alleging in utero exposure to Depakote (taken by her mother in Minnesota) caused her birth defects; Minnesota substantive law applies.
- Plaintiffs filed a single multi-plaintiff action in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis: 4 Missouri plaintiffs and 19 non-Missouri plaintiffs (including Schmidt).
- Abbott moved pretrial to (1) transfer venue for non-Missouri plaintiffs (including Schmidt) to St. Louis County and (2) sever individual plaintiffs’ claims; both motions were denied and extraordinary writs were unsuccessful.
- The court conducted an individual jury trial on Schmidt’s claims (claims remained joined), where she proceeded on a failure-to-warn theory; Abbott moved for directed verdict and later JNOV on both failure-to-warn and punitive damages grounds; motions were denied.
- Jury awarded $15 million compensatory and $23 million punitive damages; Abbott appealed contesting venue/joinder rulings, sufficiency of evidence on failure-to-warn, and sufficiency for punitive damages; the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue transfer (§508.010.5) | Venue in City of St. Louis was proper because claims were joined; action proceeded there | Venue for Schmidt (non-Missouri plaintiff) should have been St. Louis County; joinder of Missouri plaintiffs cannot cure venue | Even if transfer/severance error occurred, Abbott failed to show prejudice on appeal; affirms judgment |
| Joinder / severance (Rule 52.05) | Joinder proper: common series of occurrences and common questions of law/fact; court permissibly denied initial motion to sever | Joinder of out-of-state plaintiffs was improper and produced incorrect venue; court should have severed claims | Court need not decide error if no prejudice shown; points denied (joinder denial not shown prejudicial on appeal) |
| Failure-to-warn (directed verdict / JNOV; Minnesota law) | Label warnings were inadequate because Abbott knew of studies showing much higher risks (overall defects ~10%, higher spina bifida risk) that the label did not disclose | Depakote label (including CDC risk estimates and FDA black-box) adequately warned | Viewing evidence in plaintiff’s favor, a reasonable jury could find the label was incomplete/misleading; denial of directed verdict/JNOV affirmed |
| Punitive damages (clear and convincing; Minn. Stat. standard) | Abbott acted with deliberate disregard: knew of studies, did no independent safety research, aggressively marketed for profit despite internal concerns | Inclusion of an FDA black-box warning negates deliberate disregard; insufficient clear and convincing evidence | Sufficient evidence (marketing focus, internal statements, failure to study risks) supports punitive damages under Minnesota standard; denial of directed verdict/JNOV affirmed |
Key Cases Cited
- Igoe v. Dep’t of Labor & Indus. Relations, 152 S.W.3d 284 (Mo. banc 2005) (venue transfer discussed)
- Dieser v. St. Anthony’s Med. Ctr., 498 S.W.3d 419 (Mo. banc 2016) (prejudice required to reverse non-jurisdictional trial errors)
- Fleshner v. Pepose Vision Inst., P.C., 304 S.W.3d 81 (Mo. banc 2010) (standard for reviewing directed verdict and JNOV)
- Gray v. Badger Mining Corp., 676 N.W.2d 268 (Minn. 2004) (elements and jury role in adequacy of warnings)
- Glorvigen v. Cirrus Design Corp., 816 N.W.2d 572 (Minn. 2012) (warnings must be complete and accurate; not misleading)