On July 28, 2023, the Second Circuit affirmed a federal trial court’s grant of summary judgment for the manufacturer of a leading prescription antidepressant. The decision was a victory for WLF, which filed an amicus brief in the case urging affirmance. The appeal arose from a lawsuit over the FDA-approved drug Lexapro®, an antidepressant therapy in the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The Second Circuit held that, because Plaintiffs adduced no admissible, reliable expert evidence to prove general causation, the district court did not err in granting summary judgment for the manufacturer and dismissing Plaintiffs’ claims. WLF’s amicus brief explained why relaxing the reliability threshold for expert evidence of causation in pharmaceutical-liability cases would significantly harm public health.
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