UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ex rel.

KATY KENNEDY and FRANK A. MATOS, 

THE STATE OF ILLINOIS ex rel. KATY 

KENNEDY and FRANK A. MATOS, and 

KATY KENNEDY, individually 

Plaintiffs, 

vs. 

 

AVENTIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., 

and PHARMANETICS, INC. 

Defendants. 

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Case No. 03-C-2750

Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly 

NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY IN SUPPORT OF 

DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS RELATORS’ AMENDED COMPLAINT

Defendant Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Aventis”) hereby notifies the Court of 

the memorandum opinion and order of the United States District Court for the Northern District 

of Illinois in United States ex rel. West v. Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., No. 03-8239 (July 

20, 2007), attached hereto as Exhibit 1. 

In this opinion, the Court dismisses a qui tam complaint under the False Claims 

Act, in part for relator’s failure to plead fraud with the particularity required by Rule 9(b). 

Specifically, the Court finds the relator’s general allegations that the pharmaceutical company 

defendant caused false claims to be submitted by having sales representatives promote its drugs 

“off-label” insufficient under Rule 9(b) because the relator failed to plead, among other facts, 

“which sales representatives made the statements, when they made them, to which doctors they 

made them or how they communicated them,” or which of defendant’s executives “told sales 

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representatives to make these false statements.” Ex. 1 at 7. The Court also rejects the relator’s 

argument that a “relaxed” pleading standard should be applied to causes of action under the False 

Claims Act. Id. at 8-9. 

Aventis has moved to dismiss Relators’ allegations, which are factually similar to 

those advanced by the relator in West, on several grounds, including that they are not pled with 

the particularity required by Rule 9(b). Aventis respectfully requests that in ruling on this issue 

this Court consider the opinion in West. 

Dated: July 24, 2007 

 Respectfully submitted, 

By: /s/ Jaime L.M. Jones

Scott R. Lassar 

Stephen C. Payne 

Jaime L.M. Jones 

SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP

One South Dearborn Street 

Chicago, Illinois 60603 

(312) 853-7000 

Attorneys for Defendant Aventis 

Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

Jaime L.M. Jones, an attorney, hereby certifies that on July 24, 2007, she caused a 

true and correct copy of the foregoing Notice of Supplemental Authority in Support of 

Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Relators’ Amended Complaint to be served via electronic 

filing on the following individuals: 

 Michael C. Rosenblat United States Attorney’s Office 

 33 N. LaSalle Northern District of Illinois 

 Suite 2900 219 South Dearborn Street 

 Chicago, IL 60602 Suite 500 

 Chicago, IL 60604 

 Clinton A. Krislov Office of the Attorney General 

 Kenneth T. Goldstein State of Illinois 

 Krislov & Associates, Ltd. General Law Bureau 

 20 N. Wacker Dr. 100 West Randolph Street 

 Suite 1350 13th Floor 

 Chicago, IL 60606 Chicago, IL 60614 

Benjamin N. Thompson 

Jennifer M. Miller 

Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton, LLP 

4101 Lake Boone Trail 

Suite 300 

Raleigh, NC 27607-7506 

 s/ Jaime L.M. Jones 

 

CH1 3944417v.1 

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