Skadden recently obtained an important appellate win for Pfizer Inc in three product liability personal injury actions involving the company's cholesterol-lowering medicine, Lipitor. On Nov. 20, a five-judge panel unanimously affirmed New York Supreme Court Justice Martin Shulman’s decisions granting Pfizer’s motions to dismiss the actions on the ground that they were governed by, and barred under, Michigan law. Plaintiffs were all Michigan residents who alleged injury in Michigan as a result of taking Lipitor there.
The New York Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the trial court’s decision, explaining that under a New York choice-of-law interest analysis, "Michigan has far greater significant contacts with the litigation. Not only do plaintiffs live and work there, but in addition, it is the jurisdiction where the alleged injuries occurred."