A Broward County Circuit judge’s ruling in Florida has allowed the majority of a 32 count complaint in a drug marketing lawsuit to stand, paving the way for plaintiffs to seek class action status.
Judge Robert Andrews of the 17th Judicial Circuit denied the motions brought by defendants drug maker Eli Lilly & Co., drug retailer Walgreen Co., Holy Cross Hospital, and four doctors and a physician’s assistant from South Florida, according to Gary Farmer, lead plaintiff counsel in the case and a partner with Freedland, Glassman, Farmer & Sheller, in Weston, Fla.
The complaint claims that the defendants used information from confidential patient records to send direct mail promoting the prescription drug Prozac Weekly to patients without their prior consent, said Farmer in a statement.
The defendants had argued that the recently amended federal Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act, or HIPPA, allows use of private patient information for marketing purposes without patient consent. Farmer said the court found, as have other courts, that HIPPA notes where state law is more stringent, state law takes precedent. Florida law requires written consent from any patients before a doctor or health care provider can release information for solicitation or marketing purposes.
In a statement, Farmer said the judge let stand plaintiffs’ claims of invasion of privacy, breach of duty of confidentiality and fiduciary duty, violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and conspiracy among the defendants.
With three plaintiffs currently on board, the class status could eventually include upward of 300 patients, Farmer said.
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