Delaware Zantac cancer lawsuit tossed, judge says claims time-barred

Zantac lawsuit overview:

• Who: A Delaware judge dismissed more than 200 lawsuits against Boehringer Ingelheim and Patheon Manufacturing Services.
• Why: The judge ruled the lawsuits were time-barred based on when the plaintiffs were diagnosed with cancer and the Food and Drug Administration’s 2020 announcement about ranitidine.
• Where: The Zantac lawsuits were dismissed in Delaware state court.

A Delaware judge tossed more than 200 lawsuits claiming that Boehringer Ingelheim’s now-discontinued heartburn medication Zantac caused cancer, finding they were time-barred.

The lawsuits were filed by plaintiffs who were either diagnosed with cancer more than two years before the Food and Drug Administration’s 2020 announcement of a probable link between cancer and ranitidine — the active ingredient in Zantac — or who failed to file suit within two years of their diagnosis after the announcement.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Francis J. Jones said in a Jan. 30 opinion that the FDA’s 2020 announcement provided sufficient notice to trigger the state’s two-year statute of limitations.

“The court does not need to discern at what point each plaintiff was aware of the link between ranitidine-containing products and cancer,” Judge Jones wrote in his opinion. “It is sufficient that the link was made publicly available.”

Plaintiffs failed to identify ‘exceptional reason,’ judge rules

According to a Law360 report, the plaintiffs failed to identify an “exceptional reason” for the court to depart from the language of Delaware’s borrowing statute, which governs the rule for adopting statutes of limitations from other states where a cause of action arises.

The law requires Delaware’s statute of limitations to apply to causes of action arising within the state, the judge said.

The plaintiffs argued they were forced to file in Delaware, but Jones said the argument does not hold up to scrutiny, noting that they could have filed in states where their injuries occurred.

Jones also determined that the plaintiffs failed to show the court could not determine at the motion to dismiss stage whether they had notice of the link between ranitidine-containing products and cancer.

The FDA’s 2020 announcement was sufficient to trigger notice, Jones ruled.

In 2024, a number of other drug companies agreed to settle claims around their manufacturing and distribution of Zantac, including GSK, Pfizer and Sanofi.

What do you think of the ruling in this Delaware Zantac lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bernard G. Conway of Conaway Legal LLC, Raeann Warner of Collins Price & Warner, Stephen T. Morrow and Joseph J. Rhoades of Rhoades & Morrow LLC, Adam Pulaski of Pulaski Kherkher PLLC, Jennifer A. Moore of Moore Law Group PLLC and R. Brent Wisner of Wisner Baum LLP.

The Zantac cancer lawsuit is In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Litigation, Case No. N22C-09-101 ZAN, in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• MyFitnessPal class action over tracking cookies survives dismissal
• Dolls Kill class action alleges fashion retailer sent misleading emails about sales
• Above ground pool recall issued by Blue Bay and Sunneday Pools due to drowning risk
• Chrysler class action alleges seat height adjusters are defective