California Court of Appeal

In plaintiffs' suit for negligence and breach of contract against a publisher of medication information, referred to as "monographs", claiming that defendant was negligent in preparing the Paxil monograph given to plaintiff-decedent (who committed suicide shortly after he began to use the medication for stress), because it should have included the so-called "black box" suicide warning issued by the FDA, trial court's denial of defendant's anti-SLAPP motion is reversed where: 1) the trial court erred in finding the publication of the monograph is not "free speech in connection with public issue or an issue of public interest, and defendant has shown that the contents of the monographs fall within the statute; 2) section 425.17(c) does not bar the anti-SLAPP motion; 3) plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that defendant owed them any duty as defendant is neither the manufacturer of Paxil, nor the pharmacy dispensing it; and 4) plaintiffs' breach of contract claim fails as they failed to substantiate their allegations that defendant owed them any duty vis-a-vis the monograph.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/23/2010
• Published 08/17/2010

Judges

• RYLAARSDAM

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Davis Wright Tremaine, Donald J. Farber