Gaines v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical

Background

Ernest Edward Gaines filed the action without a lawyer. He is incarcerated in Texas and stated that he suffers from diabetes. He alleged that he had been prescribed Seroquel for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder while detained in Texas from December 21, 2005, through June 12, 2006. He also challenged the amount he received in a 2012 settlement involving AstraZeneca and claims handled by two Texas law firms. Gaines alleged that he later learned that he had diabetes and that the settlement payment was insufficient.

The court previously gave Gaines several opportunities to plead facts establishing federal-question jurisdiction or diversity jurisdiction, which are bases for a federal court’s authority to hear a case. After reviewing his amended complaint, the court dismissed the action on September 26, 2022, for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Motions

In the closed case, Gaines filed a motion under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which allows a court to grant relief from an earlier order for specified reasons. He also filed a motion seeking a stay and other relief. The court understood the Rule 60(b) motion to request reopening of the case and permission to file another amended complaint that would remove Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough and “Howard L. Nations, The Nations Law Firm” as defendants, leaving AstraZeneca as the sole defendant.

Court’s analysis

The court concluded that Gaines had shown excusable neglect under Rule 60(b)(1). It therefore granted his motion for reconsideration of the dismissal order, reopened the action, and directed him to file a second amended complaint that drops the two law-firm defendants and names AstraZeneca as the sole defendant.

The court did not decide whether Gaines’s claims against AstraZeneca are timely, whether his 2012 settlement prevents further recovery, or whether venue is proper in the Southern District of New York. It identified those as issues to address in the second amended complaint. The court also did not rule on the merits of the alleged Seroquel-related injury or the settlement dispute.

The court denied Gaines’s motion for a stay because it did not appear to present a legally recognizable request or argument.

Disposition

Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Gaines’s Rule 60(b) motion for reconsideration, directed the Clerk of Court to reopen the matter, and ordered Gaines to submit a second amended complaint within 60 days of the order. No summons was to issue at that time. The court denied the motion for a stay. It stated that if Gaines did not file the second amended complaint within the allowed period, the amended complaint would be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.