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Mealey's Drugs & Devices

  • February 20, 2019

    Zimmer: Participation In NexGen Settlement Is Adequate

    CHICAGO — Zimmer Inc. on Feb. 11 told the NexGen knee multidistrict litigation court that 273 out of 279 eligible plaintiffs have elected to participate in a Global Master Settlement Agreement and that the company intends to consummate and fund the settlement (In Re:  Zimmer NexGen Knee Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2272, No. 11-5468, N.D. Ill., Eastern Div.).

  • February 20, 2019

    Opioid MDL Judge Warns About ‘Extrajudicial’ Statements, Professional Rules

    CLEVELAND — The Ohio federal judge overseeing the opioid multidistrict litigation on Feb. 13 stopped short of issuing a gag order but reminded attorneys that they are subject to the Ohio Rule of Professional Responsibility, Local Civ. R. 83.7, for making “extrajudicial” statements (In Re:  National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2804, N.D. Ohio).

  • February 20, 2019

    Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices

    New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.

  • February 20, 2019

    Summary Judgment Granted In Third-Party Payer Case In Testosterone MDL

    CHICAGO — The Illinois federal judge overseeing the testosterone multidistrict litigation on Feb. 14 granted summary judgment to five manufacturer defendants in a third-party payer case brought by health insurer Medical Mutual of Ohio (In Re:  Testosterone Replacement Therapy Products Liability Litigation [Medical Mutual of Ohio v. AbbVie, Inc., et al., No. 14-8857], MDL Docket No. 2545, No. 14-1748, N.D. Ill., Eastern Div., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24063).

  • February 20, 2019

    Unsealed Whistleblower Case Alleges Company Defrauded Medicare, Waived Co-Pays

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge on Feb. 14 unsealed a whistleblower complaint against Arriva Medical LLC and Alere Inc. after the United States intervened in part in the 5-1/2-year-old complaint (United States of America, ex rel. Gregory M. Goodman, et al. v. Arriva Medical, LLC, et al., No. 13-760, M.D. Tenn., Nashville Div.).

  • February 20, 2019

    Parties: All Abilify Compulsive Behavior Cases Settled Under Global Agreement

    PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Florida federal judge presiding over the Abilify multidistrict litigation on Feb. 15 ordered a Feb. 20 case management conference after the parties on Feb. 15 told the court that they entered into a confidential master settlement agreement establishing a proposed settlement program to resolve all federal and state claims that the atypical antipsychotic drug Abilify causes compulsive behavior such as gambling (In Re:  Abilify [Aripiprazole] Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2734, No 16-md-2734, N.D. Fla., Pensacola Div.).

  • February 19, 2019

    Virginia Federal Judge Stays All But 1 Municipal Opioid Suit Pending JPMDL Decision

    ROANOKE, Va. — A Virginia federal judge on Feb. 14 stayed all but one of 12 lawsuits filed by Virginia municipalities against various opioid defendants pending a decision by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on whether the cases should be transferred into the opioid multidistrict litigation or remanded to Virginia state courts (City of Galax, Virginia v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., et al., No. 18-617, W.D. Va., Roanoke Div., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24443).

  • February 19, 2019

    Legal Malpractice Suit Can’t Go To Arbitration, 1st Circuit Says

    BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 11 affirmed that a plaintiff attorney is barred by the doctrine of collateral estoppel from relitigating his contention that two Kugel hernia mesh patch plaintiffs should be compelled to arbitrate their legal malpractice claim against him (Rickie Patton, et al. v. Barry Johnson, et al., No. 18-1750, 1st Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 4058).

  • February 19, 2019

    6th Circuit Says It Lacks Jurisdiction Over City’s Opioid MDL Remand Motion

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 13 said it lacks jurisdiction over the city of Jacksonville’s attempt to remand its opioid lawsuit to Florida state court because the opioid multidistrict litigation court’s moratorium on remand motions is not an injunction that is appealable (In Re:  National Prescription Opiate Litigation [City of Jacksonville, Fla. v. Purdue Pharma, et al.], No. 18-4054, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 4460).

  • February 19, 2019

    Pain Doctor Pleads Guilty To Taking $68,400 In Kickbacks For Opioid Speaking Role

    NEW YORK —  A Manhattan pain management doctor on Feb. 14 pleaded guilty to violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), by taking about $68,400 in bogus speaker fees from September 2014 to June 2015 from Insys Pharmaceuticals Inc. in exchange for becoming one the highest prescribers of the fentanyl-based opioid in the United States, according to the court docket and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (United States v. Gordon Freedman, et al., No. 18-cr-217, S.D. N.Y.).

  • February 15, 2019

    MDL For Contaminated Valsartan Created; 40 Cases Transferred To New Jersey Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judicial panel on Feb. 14 centralized in a multidistrict litigation 40 federal personal injury, economic injury and third-party payer lawsuits alleging that various defendants made or marketed the generic blood pressure drug valsartan that contained contaminants that can possibly cause cancer or liver damage (In Re:  Valsartan N-Nitrosodimethylamine [NDMA] Contamination Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2875, JPMDL).

  • February 14, 2019

    Judge Releases Juror Addresses In NECC Criminal Trial After 1st Circuit Ruling

    BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on Feb. 13 released the home addresses of jurors in one of the New England Compounding Center (NECC) criminal trials, apparently choosing not to make “particularized findings” to keep addresses from a public radio station that has reported on the trial (United States v. Glenn A. Chinn, No. 14-10363, D. Mass.).

  • February 14, 2019

    Otsuka Will Pay $120M To Settle Civil, Criminal Probe Into Marketing of Nuedexta

    TOKYO — Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd. on Feb. 13 said it reached an agreement in principle to settle civil, criminal and administrative investigations by the U.S. Justice Department into its marketing of its drug Nuedexta and estimates that fines, damages, disgorgement, restitution, legal fees and interest will total about $120 million.

  • February 13, 2019

    Most Expert Testimony For Prosecution Allowed In Dietary Supplement Fraud Case

    DALLAS — A Texas federal judge on Feb. 8 excluded testimony from two experts for the U.S. government in its case against dietary supplement distributors but declined to exclude the opinions of three other experts linking adulterated and misbranded products with liver disease (United States v. USPlabs, LLC, et al., No. 3:15-cr-496, N.D. Texas, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21195).

  • February 12, 2019

    FDA: Pelvic Mesh Used To Treat Prolapse Can Erode Vagina In 11-18 Percent Of Cases

    SILVER SPRING, Md. — The use of surgical mesh to treat pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is less favorable than the use of “native tissue,” the Food and Drug Administration staff says in a summary prepared for a Feb. 12 advisory committee meeting on the topic.

  • February 12, 2019

    California Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal Of Delayed Gastric Band Lawsuit

    LOS ANGELES — A California state appeals panel on Feb. 7 affirmed dismissal of a Lap-Band gastric weight loss device case because the plaintiffs failed to bring the case to trial within five years despite a federal investigation that made discovery of implanting surgeons impossible (Graciela Del Mar, et al. v. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., No. B285152, Calif. App., 2nd Dist., Div. 2, 2019 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 952).

  • February 11, 2019

    Tennessee Federal Judge Restrains 2 Pharmacies, 4 People In Opioid Civil Case

    COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge on Feb. 7 issued a temporary restraining order against two related pharmacies and four individuals that a U.S. attorney says are violating the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S. Code §§ 801 et seq., by “repeatedly and routinely” dispensing controlled drugs, including opioids (United States of America v. Oakley Pharmacy, Inc., No. 19-cv-0123, M.D. Tenn., Northeast Div.).

  • February 8, 2019

    No Punitive Damages Awarded In Cook Medical IVC Filter MDL Bellwether Trial

    INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana federal jury on Feb. 5 said no punitive damages are due to a Cook Medical LLC inferior vena cava (IVC) filter patient whom the jury earlier awarded $3 million in compensatory damages (Tonya Brand v. Cook Medical, LLC, et al., No. 14-6018, S.D. Ind., Indianapolis Div.).

  • February 8, 2019

    Panel Majority Affirms Judgment In Coverage Dispute Over Contaminated Heparin

    RICHMOND, Va. — The majority of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal on Feb. 6 determined that a district court did not err in entering judgment in favor of insureds in a dispute over coverage for underlying product liability lawsuits involving contaminated heparin because the policies at issue clearly provided coverage for the underlying suits (Charter Oak Fire Insurance v. American Capital, 17-2015 and 17-2068, 4th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 3687).

  • February 6, 2019

    Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices

    New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.