In July, the Appellate Division ruled that, in more than 2,100 suits lodged by users of Accutane claiming they developed Crohn’s disease, plaintiff expert testimony was improperly excluded by Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson.
Johnson exceeded his role as a gatekeeper when he concluded that plaintiffs’ experts on gastroenterology and epidemiology were using unaccepted scientific methods to analyze the evidence in the case, the appeals court said. The decision also said the judge incorrectly determined the credibility of the testimony by plaintiffs’ experts. The appeals court reversed an order barring expert testimony by the plaintiffs’ experts, and another order dismissing 2,174 cases.
