Collier et al v. SmithKline Beecham Corporation

Filing 14

ORDER OF SEVERANCE AND TRANSFER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that GalaxoSmithKline LLCs motion to dismiss 9 is DENIED and its motion to sever and transfer 9 is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the claims of Plaintiffs Tamika Collier and Deijon Coll ier are severed from those of Plaintiffs Margaret Cordell and Dakota Lively. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall transfer Plaintiffs Tamika Collier and Deijon Colliers case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and Plaintiffs Margaret Cordell and shall transfer Dakota Livelys case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia under 28 U.S.C. ' 1404(a). Signed by District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on 1/26/16. (CAR)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
DEIJON COLLIER and
TAMIKA COLLIER
and
DAKOTA LIVELY and
MARGARET CORDELL,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
SMITHKLINE BEECHAM
CORPORATION, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:15 CV 1844 RWS

ORDER OF SEVERANCE AND TRANSFER
Plaintiffs Tamika Collier and Deijon Collier are mother and daughter.
Collier alleges that she took Defendant GlaxoSmithKline LLC’s prescription drug
Paxil while she was pregnant with Deijon. Collier claims that, as a result of taking
the drug, Deijon was born with birth defects. Plaintiffs reside in the Eastern
District of Virginia. Collier received her prescription for Paxil, ingested the
product, and gave birth to Deijon in the Easter District of Virginia.
Plaintiffs Margaret Cordell and Dakota Lively are mother and daughter.
Cordell alleges that she took Defendant GlaxoSmithKline LLC’s prescription drug

Paxil and Defendant Pfizer Inc.’s prescription drug Effexor while she was
pregnant. Cordell claims that, as a result of taking these drugs, Dakota was born
with birth defects. Plaintiffs currently reside in Johnson City, Tennessee. Cordell
was prescribed and ingested Paxil during her pregnancy near Rome, Georgia,
which is within the Norther District of Georgia. Cordell does not allege any facts
indicating where she was prescribed and ingested Effexor.
Defendant GlaxoSmithKline LLC removed the case to this Court from state
court. GlaxoSmithKline is incorporated in Delaware, Maryland and maintains
large corporate/administrative headquarters in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
GlaxoSmithKline has moved to dismiss this case for a lack of personal jurisdiction
or, in the alternative, moves to sever Plaintiffs’ claims and transfer venue.
The claims of Plaintiffs Collier and Cordell should not have been joined in
one action. Although they allege that they were both prescribed and ingested Paxil
while pregnant, allegedly causing birth defects in their children, they took the drug
at different times, in different states, prescribed by different doctors, and gave birth
in different hospitals. In addition, Cordell also asserts that she took the drug
Effexor during her pregnancy and brings separate claims against the manufacturer
of that drug.
Moreover, none of the claims in this case are related to the activities of
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Defendants in Missouri. Based on the facts of asserted in the complaint, this Court
lacks personal jurisdiction over GlaxoSmithKline. However, I find that justice
would best be served by severing Plaintiffs’ claims and transferring the cases
rather than dismissing them.
Section 1404(a) governs the ability of a federal district court to
transfer a case to another district. This provision reads: AFor the
convenience of the parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a
district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or
division where it might have been brought.@ 28 U.S.C. ' 1404(a)
(1994). The statutory language reveals three general categories of
factors that courts must consider when deciding a motion to transfer:
(1) the convenience of the parties, (2) the convenience of the
witnesses, and (3) the interests of justice. Id.
Terra Intern., Inc. v. Mississippi Chemical Corp., 119 F.3d 688, 691 (8th
Cir.1997).
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) a civil action may be brought in 1) a judicial
district where any defendant resides, if all of the defendants reside in the same
State; 2) a judicial district where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the
claim occurred; or 3) a judicial district in which the defendant is subject to
personal jurisdiction if there is no district in which the action may otherwise be
brought. In the present case, venue is proper under § 1391(b)(2) for Plaintiffs
Tamika Collier and Deijon Collier in the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia. Venue is proper for Plaintiffs Margaret Cordell and
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Dakota Lively in the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that GalaxoSmithKline LLC’s motion to
dismiss [9] is DENIED and its motion to sever and transfer [9] is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the claims of Plaintiffs Tamika Collier
and Deijon Collier are severed from those of Plaintiffs Margaret Cordell and
Dakota Lively.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall transfer
Plaintiffs Tamika Collier and Deijon Collier’s case to the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and Plaintiffs Margaret Cordell and shall
transfer Dakota Lively’s case to the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Georgia under 28 U.S.C. ' 1404(a).

_______________________________
RODNEY W. SIPPEL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 26th day of January, 2016.

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