Will Pfizer-Wyeth Merger Force Chief Justice Roberts Off Preemption Case?

(MoneyWatch)  Lawyers for Wyeth have informed the US Supreme Court of the merger with Pfizer, in case the justices now have a conflicts in Wyeth v. Levine.

Chief Justice John Roberts usually recuses himself in cases regarding Pfizer, according to the Mass Tort Litigation Blog. He owns Pfizer stock. But Roberts already heard arguments in Wyeth v. Levine, the difficult case which could decide whether federal law preempts personal injury claims filed against drug companies by patients hurt by drugs. (Back story here.)

The MTLB thinks Roberts may stay on the case "since arguments were heard before Pfizer was publicly in the picture."

But plaintiffs' lawyer Richard Arsenault thinks Roberts might recuse himself, creating a likely 4-4 split on a case that may previously have enjoyed a 5-4 majority favoring drug companies.

If Roberts does own Pfizer stock and he rules on the case, his conflict will be clear: PFE has lost about 17 percent of its value since the merger, and keeping Wyeth free of liability is now clearly in Pfizer's long-term interest.