Today was a sad one for justice in the case of Maureen Calisi. In a 34 page opinion, US District Judge Denise Casper ruled that the testimony of our “warnings” expert, Dr. Michael Hamrell, should be excluded, and that, without it, there was no case to submit to a jury. “We are disappointed, but will appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals,” commented Calisi lawyer Andy Vickery of Houston. “On two occasions within the last year, the courts of appeals have reversed similar rulings made in favor of pharmaceutical companies in our cases,” he added.
Ironically, the main 1st Circuit case cited in the Calisi opinion was Milward v. Acuity Specialty Products Grp., Inc., 639 F.3d 11, 14 (1st Cir. 2011). There, as here, the question was whether a pharmaceutical product causes cancer. There, as here, the trial judge was persuaded by the defense that he should exclude a key expert for the plaintiff, and grant summary judgment. In Milward, the Court of Appeals REVERSED the trial judge, and sent the case back for a trial on the merits.
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