Split 2nd Circuit Revives Nigerian Families’ Claims Against Pfizer Over Drug Tests

African families’ damage claims for billions of dollars against Pfizer for allegedly secretly testing a new drug in a Nigerian hospital during a 1996 meningitis outbreak were revived Friday by a divided 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling — notable partly for its numerous barbed comments — allows 88 Nigerian families to pursue claims under a law adopted in 1789 that gives foreigners the right to raise tort claims in federal court to vindicate violations of “the laws of nations.”