An appeal before the New Jersey Supreme Court over expert testimony in suits concerning the acne drug Accutane is seen by many as a chance to revise the state’s standard for admitting such evidence.
Lawyers for drugmaker Hoffmann-La Roche have asked the court to consider whether a trial judge exceeded his authority by excluding two expert witnesses for the plaintiffs based on a conclusion that their views lacked support in the scientific community. That decision was later overturned by the Appellate Division, which reinstated 2,100 plaintiffs’ suits based on its finding that the judge below went beyond his role as gatekeeper.
