Dolin Wins...Again

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been delivered a devastating blow by Judge William T. Hart in their efforts for a new trial against Plaintiff Wendy Dolin who, earlier this year, won her case against GSK after a jury found that GSK had not properly added adult suicide risk warnings to the label of paroxetine, the controversial antidepressant popularly known by its brand names of Paxil, Aropax and Seroxat.

Hart pulled no punches after GSK tried desperately in vain to blame his decisions during the trial, a trial in which they blamed everyone but Paxil for the death of Stewart Dolin.

GSK wasn't happy with the verdict decision by the jury so immediately filed motions for a new trial claiming, amongst many things, that...

 - The jury wasn't reasonable enough because they didn't return a verdict in favour of GSK.
 - Stewart Dolin's Dr should have told Stewart about the Paxil suicide risk in adults, even though GSK never made this clear on the labeling
 - It wasn't their responsibility to change the label, it was the FDA's
 - Stewart killed himself because of an underlying illness, in any event, he took a generic version of their drug and even though they (GSK) were responsible for the label of that generic drug doesn't mean they should be held liable
 - Dolin's expert witness testimony wasn't reliable
 - There is no causal link between Paxil and suicide
 - The judge never instructed the jury properly

So, every possible excuse under the sun then. In not accepting defeat graciously GSK, via their hired suits of King & Spalding have made themselves look like spoiled little brats, and we all know how to treat spoiled little brats, right?

Well, Judge Hart does. He looked at their limp-wristed motions and answered them in stylish fashion. Pay particular attention to his stance of whether or not Paxil can cause suicide.

Regarding Stewart's doctor failing to warn about the adult risk of suicide in adults taking Paxil, Judge Hart ruled that Stewart's Dr was not aware of the suicide risk, further, the Paxil label did not adequately warn of an increased risk of suicide for adults taking Paxil.

He told them they did not provide the court, or indeed the jury, with evidence that the FDA would never have allowed such a warning on the label, adding that because Stewart took the generic form of Paxil does not mean that GSK cannot be held liable.

He disagreed with their claim that Dolin's expert witnesses were unreliable by merely counteracting it with "they were reliable."

He went on to tell GSK that there were no errors in instructing the jury.

Most damning of all was the following...

"There is a causal link between Mr. Dolin’s ingestion of paroxetine, his side effects, and consequent suicide."

For years pharmaceutical companies and global medicine regulators have claimed that correlation does not equal causation - However, unlike Stewart Dolin's widow, Wendy, and her legal team of  Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman PC, and David Rapoport and Matthew Sims of Rapoport Law Offices PC., regulators never investigate the suicides so they can always claim that correlation does not equal causation - if they actually went out and spoke to doctors and the grieving family members, they may learn a thing or two.

So, what happens now? Will GSK walk away licking their wounds and cough up the $3 million awarded to Wendy Dolin back in April, or will they retain the services of King & Spalding once again to take this matter to the Supreme Court? King & Spalding had nigh on 6 weeks to cross-examine, they did so with inane questions that were more designed to try and catch witnesses lying rather than strike home the point that Paxil does not cause some adults to kill themselves. They failed on a humungous scale and they may, if given the go-ahead from GSK, try their embarrassing tactics on a bigger stage, that of the Supreme Court. At what point does GSK or, indeed, King & Spalding not realise that the whole of the industry is in a complete state of apoplexy watching their comedic performance? Seriously, Messrs Bayman and Davis, along with the bald-headed guy who filed his fingernails at the King & Spalding table in court, should be up for Best Comedy Performance by a legal team in 2017. That's one presentation I would attend, if only to give them a much-deserved standing ovation as they went to collect their award.

If I were GSK I'd take a long, hard look at those they hire to defend cases for them. In this instance, King & Spalding, the legal outfit from Atlanta have not only embarrassed themselves, they have embarrassed GSK too. (If that's possible) They have all the traits of narcissism, believing that they are all-empowering. GSK's grandiose sense of self-importance obviously rubbed off on the King & Spalding team when they opposed the judge in this case. Their sense of entitlement is all too plain to see, as is their lack of empathy and unwillingness to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others. Finally, their arrogance is staggering - The jury was wrong, Dolin's experts were wrong. the judge was wrong.

It will be very interesting to see how this will now unfold. Will GSK take a look at King & Spalding and think, 'well, that was another bag of money wasted at our stakeholder's expense', or will they continue to argue that black is really white and everybody else is wrong? King & Spalding didn't just fail GSK by losing this case and the chance for a new trial, they failed every other single pharmaceutical company waiting anxiously in the wings to see if they could themselves be held liable in potential future litigation.

As a blogger writing and researching GSK for the past 11 years it gives me great pleasure to write about them and all their failings, their dystopia is my utopia.

Here's another ditty to them.

Sing to the tune of Hot Chocolate's 'So You Win Again' (Lyrics beneath video)

"Dolin Wins Again"

Just to admit one mistake

That can be hard to take

I know you've made them all

Like fools, you come back for more

Being the fool you are

I figured in all your plans, Glaxo

Your endless motions didn't say

About the Paxil deaths, you hid away.

Dolin wins again, she wins again

Here you stand again, the loser

And just for fun you took Stew's life and run,

And now you've been outdone

You can't refute her

But now you know that you're the fool

Who lost your case, you lost it all

If you come back, you'll lose again

And I am proud to say

The Press will have a field day

Now she's the one who's crying

Because of your denying

When will her heartache end?

Will her whole life depend on fading memories

You took his life so stop now, please

Dolin wins again, she wins again

Here you stand again, the loser

And just for fun you took Stew's life and run,

And now you've been outdone

2017 (C) - Fid Chocolate 
(Original lyrics by Russ Ballard 1977)

Bob Fiddaman

Press Announcement from Baum Hedlund

Coverage of the Dolin Trial

Dolin v GSK - Opening Arguments

Dolin Vs GSK - Day Two - "Jack-In-The-Box"

Dolin vs GSK - Healy 'Rocks Da House'

Dolin Vs GSK - JP Garnier Video Deposition

Dolin Vs GSK - The Dunbar Tape

Dolin Vs GSK - Day 4 - Slam Dunk

Dolin Vs GSK - 8.9 Suicide Increase For Adult Paxil Users

Dolin Vs GSK - Day 6 - Ass Kicking Semantics

Dolin Vs GSK - Day 7 - Abraham Lincoln

Dolin Vs GSK - Day 8 - Get to the Point, Todd!

Dolin Vs GSK - Glenmullen Nails It!

Dolin Vs GSK - "Babes"

Dolin Vs GSK - Wendy's Cross and GSK's Petition

Dolin Vs GSK - Robert "Bling Bling" Gibbons

Dolin Vs GSK: Suicide Prevention Warning "Futile", Claims GSK Exec

Dolin Vs GSK : Jury shown List of the Dead in Paxil Clinical Trials

Dolin Vs GSK: Last Man Standing & The Return of Dr. Healy

Dolin Vs GSK: Closing Arguments

Dolin Vs GSK - The Verdict

Exclusive: Interview With Wendy Dolin