National retailer obtains full dismissal of tort claims

Client(s) National retailer

In August 2023, on behalf of a large retail client with pharmacy operations, Jones Day obtained affirmance of a dismissal of a lawsuit alleging a violation of a putative Minnesota common-law right to self-determination, tortious interference with the plaintiffs' contractual relationship with their doctor, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jones Day had previously secured dismissal with prejudice of all of the plaintiffs' claims in the District of Minnesota, which concluded that Minnesota common law does not require medical providers to offer treatment against their clinical judgment, that the pharmacist's actions did not interfere with the performance of any contract, and that the pharmacist's conduct, which comported with the overwhelming weight of medical authority, was not extreme or outrageous. The Eighth Circuit subsequently affirmed that dismissal in full.