Navigation 11th Circuit dismisses Zantac class-action lawsuit
Efforts to secure damages awards from the makers of the Zantac heartburn drug over the allegation that it contains carcinogens hit a roadblock earlier this month after a federal appeals court dismissed a proposed class action.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 7 affirmed a federal district court’s dismissal of the lawsuit advanced by the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 630 in West Palm Beach. The lawsuit was a consolidated third-party payer class complaint (CTPPCC) filed in the wake of reports that Zantac’s active ingredient, ranitidine, may produce a human carcinogen.
Although the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit found that the union had standing on some of its claims, it dismissed the potential class action based on the characterization of the legal complaint as a “shotgun pleading,” meaning that the arguments lack adequate clarity to give defendants a clear notice of the claims against them.
