Panola County District Judge LeAnn Rafferty on Thursday refused to throw out a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that accuses Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, of hiding risks to children from acetaminophen use during pregnancy. Her short, one-line order keeps Paxton’s Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims alive and pushes the case into an early discovery phase.
Rafferty denied Kenvue’s motion to dismiss in a one-sentence order, according to Reuters. The outlet reports that the judge did not explain her reasoning in the brief ruling.
Paxton filed suit in Panola County in late October, targeting both Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue. The complaint accuses them of deceptively marketing Tylenol as safe for pregnant women and of shifting liabilities when the consumer-health business was spun off. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief under Texas consumer-protection and fraudulent-transfer laws, according to The Texas Tribune.
Kenvue has pushed back, saying acetaminophen is safe when used as directed and that it will vigorously defend against the claims. The company has argued in filings and public statements that federal law and U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling authority preempt state regulation, and that limits on marketing would raise First Amendment concerns, according to ABC News.
FDA Advisory And The Scientific Debate
Last September the FDA began a process to update acetaminophen labeling and sent a letter to physicians noting a possible association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and neurodevelopmental conditions, while stressing that causation has not been established, according to the FDA. Major medical groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have urged caution and said current evidence does not support sweeping changes to clinical practice, per ACOG.
How This Fits Into The Wider Tylenol Litigation
The Texas case is one of several fronts in litigation over prenatal acetaminophen use. Kenvue is awaiting a decision from an appellate court in Manhattan on whether to revive hundreds of private suits that a federal judge dismissed, Reuters reports. Earlier, the state tried to block a 398 million dollar Kenvue dividend, but a Panola County judge declined that request, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Legal Implications
If Rafferty allows Paxton’s state-law claims to survive discovery, Texas could pursue disgorgement and civil penalties rather than individual damages, and the case could open company documents to broad discovery, legal observers say, according to Courthouse News. Kenvue’s likely defenses, including arguments about preemption by federal drug law, FDA labeling authority and First Amendment limits on regulating truthful marketing, were raised in court filings and discussed in coverage by The Texas Lawbook.
For now, the judge’s terse order leaves key procedural questions hanging. The court did not spell out its reasoning, and scheduling remains unclear, so more motion practice and a potentially drawn-out discovery fight are likely as both sides sharpen their positions.
