Mealey's Drugs & Devices
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July 01, 2022
Statute Of Limitations Summary Judgment Denied In Proton Pump MDL Bellwether Case
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge on June 27 recommended that the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) multidistrict litigation court deny summary judgment to the defendants on the grounds that a bellwether case plaintiff’s claim is untimely, saying that if anything, it is a question for a jury.
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July 01, 2022
Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices
New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
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July 01, 2022
Washington Appeals Court Affirms Lack Of Jurisdiction In Ortho Device Case
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Washington state appeals court on June 30 affirmed dismissal of an orthopedic device product liability lawsuit, agreeing with a trial court that the plaintiff failed to establish personal jurisdiction over the manufacturer defendant just because it was registered to do business in the state.
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July 01, 2022
$28M Daraprim Third-Party Antitrust Class Settlement Gets Final Approval
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on June 17 entered final judgment and an order of dismissal for a $28 million antitrust settlement for third-party payers who bought overpriced Daraprim from Vyera Pharmaceuticals LLC, Phoenixus AG and company executives Martin Shkreli and Kevin Mulleady.
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July 01, 2022
Remanded For Retrial On Expert Ruling, 1st Taxotere Hair Loss Bellwether Settles
NEW ORLEANS — The first Taxotere hair loss multidistrict litigation bellwether case has settled after a federal appeals court reversed a defense verdict on a corporate/expert witness’s testimony and remanded for retrial, according to a dismissal order filed June 22 in the MDL court.
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June 30, 2022
Planned Parenthood: Dismiss Abortion Drug Case In Light Of Dobbs, Trigger Law
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Planned Parenthood and a doctor on June 29 told a South Dakota federal court that they are voluntarily dismissing without prejudice their lawsuit against the state’s restrictions on medication abortions, saying that in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, they have “ceased providing abortions in the State of South Dakota.”
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June 30, 2022
3T Heater-Cooler MDL Judge Remands Complaint With ‘Colorable’ Hospital Claims
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the 3T heater-cooler multidistrict litigation on June 27 granted a plaintiffs’ motion to remand a new complaint that added the Cleveland Clinic as co-defendant, saying there is “colorable ground” for the plaintiffs’ claim against the hospital.
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June 29, 2022
Health Insurer Pays $33M To Gilead For Abusing HIV Patient Assistance Plans
MIAMI — A health care provider on June 23 agreed to pay $33 million to drug maker Gilead Sciences Inc., agreed to a consent judgment and agreed to be permanently enjoined from engaging in a scheme to use Gilead’s patient assistance programs to get free HIV drugs made by Gilead.
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June 29, 2022
Oklahoma Settles Opioid Cases Against 3 Drug Distributors For $250 Million
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma attorney general’s office on June 27 announced that three major drug distributors have agreed to settle the state’s opioid claims against them for $250 million.
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June 28, 2022
Jury Deliberating Fate Of Theranos Defendant Balwani On Federal Fraud Charges
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal jury on June 24 began deliberations in the fraud trial of former Theranos Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani.
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June 28, 2022
Georgia Appeals Court Says Dietary Supplement Suit Not Preempted, Defers To FDA
ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals court panel on June 24 said a consumer claim involving a dietary supplement containing an unapproved drug is not preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) but said the Food and Drug Administration has primary jurisdiction and remanded the case for the trial court to reconsider whether it should dismiss with or without prejudice.
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June 27, 2022
Illinois Appeals Court: Depakote Malpractice Verdict Not Estoppel For Drug Suit
CHICAGO — An Illinois appeals court on June 23 reversed summary judgment in a Depakote birth defects case, finding that there is no judicial estoppel from a separate medical malpractice case and that there are genuine issues of material fact as to proximate causation of the birth defects.
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June 23, 2022
MDL Sought For Exactech Knee, Hip Implants For Degraded Polyethylene Parts
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Twelve plaintiffs on June 14 filed a motion asking the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) to centralize 27 federal lawsuits alleging injuries from polyethylene components in Exactech Inc. knee and hip prostheses that degrade because packaging fails to prevent oxidation.
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June 21, 2022
Special Master Wants To Ask FDA If Ex-Staffer Can Be An Expert In Heartburn MDL
NEWARK, N.J. — A special master in the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) multidistrict litigation on June 17 recommended that the court authorize her to ask the Food and Drug Administration chief counsel if a former FDA employee would violate a federal conflict-of-interest law by testifying as an expert in a bellwether case.
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June 21, 2022
California Panel Affirms Stay Of Coverage Suit Arising From Opioid Epidemic
SANTA ANA, Calif. —A California appeals panel on June 20 affirmed a lower court’s grant of pharmaceutical and distributor insureds’ motion to stay their insurers’ declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for claims over the insureds’ distribution of opioids, finding the insurers failed to satisfy their burden to demonstrate the lower court abused its discretion in staying their lawsuit pending resolution of a related West Virginia lawsuit.
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June 20, 2022
Motion For Gardasil Vaccine MDL To Be Heard July 28
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on June 16 scheduled a hearing for July 28 on a plaintiffs’ motion to centralize 32 federal Gardasil HPV vaccine product liability cases in a multidistrict litigation.
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June 20, 2022
7th Circuit: Pelvic Mesh Expert Properly Struck; State Case Is No End-Around
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 15 affirmed summary judgment in a pelvic mesh injury case, agreeing that the plaintiff presented no admissible expert evidence that separate implants to treat stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse did not perform as expected.
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June 16, 2022
California Federal Judge Signs Off On Settlement In HIV Drug Antitrust Row
SAN FRANCISCO — In a June 3 order, a federal judge in California granted preliminary approval of a settlement between Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) and a class of direct purchasers of various combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) drugs used for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
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June 15, 2022
Judge Denies New Trial In Hernia Mesh Case, Awards Defendant $37,827 In Costs
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal court judge on June 6 denied a plaintiff’s motion for a new trial in his hernia patch case and awarded defendant Atrium Medical Corp. $37,827 in costs.
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June 14, 2022
Opioid Defendants’ Mistrial Motion Over Closing Denied By New York Justice
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A New York state court justice on June 1 denied motions by opioid defendant Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. and related defendants for a mistrial following a December public nuisance verdict due to characterizations and misrepresentations by counsel for New York.