A negligence case involving a genetic testing company and its former sales representative has taken a significant turn. Plaintiffs Tamla Pierre and Chris Taylor filed a complaint against Myriad Genetics, Inc., and Gregory Abel in the Civil District Court of Orleans Parish on July 2019, alleging that negligent representations led to an unnecessary medical procedure.
The case revolves around genetic testing provided by Myriad Genetics, which evaluates patients' risk for hereditary cancer. The plaintiffs, Ms. Pierre—a nurse practitioner—and her former husband Mr. Taylor, allege that Myriad's former account executive, Gregory Abel, misrepresented Ms. Pierre's test results in February and March 2017. According to the plaintiffs, these misrepresentations led Ms. Pierre to undergo an unnecessary double mastectomy in May 2017. They further contend that Myriad failed to adequately train and supervise Mr. Abel.
Ms. Pierre's test results indicated "NO CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT MUTATION IDENTIFIED," but also mentioned a variant of uncertain significance (VUS). The report explained that there was insufficient data to determine if these variants increased cancer risks. Despite this, Mr. Abel allegedly told Ms. Pierre that she had the same gene as his wife—who he claimed had undergone a mastectomy—and showed her a chart indicating an 80-90% risk of developing cancer.
The trial court initially granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants based on prescription but was reversed on appeal by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in December 2021 (Pierre v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 21-0320). The appellate court found that there was a genuine issue of material fact regarding when Ms. Pierre acquired constructive notice sufficient to trigger the running of prescription.
On remand, after a five-day jury trial held in September 2023, the jury found Mr. Abel negligent but concluded his negligence was not the proximate cause of Ms. Pierre’s injuries (the “No-Causation Finding”). Consequently, all claims against the defendants were dismissed by the trial court on September 28, 2023.
Plaintiffs appealed again, challenging both the directed verdict motion granted in favor of Myriad on direct negligence claims and the denial of their motion in limine to exclude testimony that the surgery was potentially life-saving. However, given the jury's No-Causation Finding—that Mr. Abel’s negligence did not proximately cause Ms. Pierre’s injuries—the appellate court found any error by the trial court harmless and upheld its decision.
Representing plaintiffs Tamla Pierre and Chris Taylor are attorneys Michael E. Lillis from Lillis Law Firm and Scott R. Bickford from Martzell, Bickford & Centola respectively; representing defendants Myriad Genetics and Gregory Abel are Michael C. Mims from Liskow & Lewis APLC and Mary S Johnson from Johnson Gray McNamara LLC respectively; Judge Paulette R Irons presided over this case with Case ID NO: 2019-07027 DIVISION “M”.