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Significant Class Action Win for the Pharmaceutical Industry in Quebec

By Marianne Ignacz and Anne-Louise Lamarre
October 26, 2009

On Aug. 17, 2009, in Goyette v GlaxoSmithKline, Inc., Justice Mark G. Peacock of the Quebec Superior Court ruled in favor of the respondent GlaxoSmithKline Inc (GSK), dismissing a motion for authorization to institute a class action made by the petitioner on behalf of all persons residing in Canada who allegedly experienced dependency and withdrawal problems as a result of using the antidepressant marketed under the name Paxil.

The petitioner contended that GSK had:

  • Introduced Paxil on the market without ensuring its safety;
  • Failed to inform health professionals, physicians and consumers of the risks associated with discontinuing this medication; and
  • Misrepresented the facts in regard thereto.

Accordingly, she claimed compensation on behalf of the members for physical, economic and moral damages suffered, and claimed punitive damages as well. The court refused to allow a class action to be brought, on the basis that the three tests set out in paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of Article 1003 of the Code of Civil Procedure had not been met.

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