Overview
- The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, July 13, 2026, vacated a 2024 dismissals order and sent roughly 550 consolidated private cases back to the Southern District of New York because a trial judge improperly excluded three plaintiffs’ experts.
- The panel allowed testimony from Andrea Baccarelli, Eric Hollander and Brandon Pearson while upholding the exclusion of two other experts, limiting judges’ power to bar contested scientific evidence without clear methodological flaws.
- The decision is procedural and stops short of any finding on whether acetaminophen causes autism or ADHD, with the court explicitly saying it was not deciding causation or public health policy.
- Scientific studies remain mixed: some reviews report an association between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders while sibling-controlled and other large studies have found no causal link, and major medical groups still advise acetaminophen as the safer option for pain or fever in pregnancy.
- The revived suits raise potential multi‑billion dollar exposure for Kenvue and major retailers and could affect Kenvue’s planned acquisition by Kimberly‑Clark, while families and doctors face renewed uncertainty about messaging and care during pregnancy.