The New Jersey Supreme Court’s Oct. 3 decision arising from the Accutane multi-county litigation (MCL) has cemented the Supreme Court’s clear preference for the application of New Jersey law in New Jersey courts, and bright line rules that can be easily applied, simplifying trials and the appellate process. The decision combines with two other recent Accutane decisions from the Supreme Court to determine several of the core issues at the heart of these large litigations, and in some cases in individual tort actions as well. Taken together, these decisions signal a policy decision by the court, favoring predictability and efficiency in the management of MCL’s and complex tort actions, and a preference for New Jersey law as opposed to federal law and the laws of other states.

The Accutane MCL ultimately grew to encompass thousands of cases brought by plaintiffs claiming that Hoffmann-La Roche, the manufacturer of Accutane, failed to adequately warn that the medication, prescribed to treat severe acne, caused or contributed to irritable bowel syndrome, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. The litigation was recently brought to a head when the defense filed litigation wide challenges to the methodologies applied by the plaintiffs’ general causation experts, and the legal viability of the failure to warn claims.