The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether thousands of Risperdal cases should be barred on statute of limitations grounds.

The high court last week agreed to consider whether Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Arnold New, who oversees the city’s Complex Litigation Center, should have granted summary judgment to drugmaker Janssen Pharmaceuticals on statute of limitations grounds in the Risperdal mass tort. According to attorneys involved in the litigation, the issue affects more than 40 percent of the roughly 6,700-strong Risperdal docket, which has seen dramatic growth over the past few years.