NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 9 affirmed summary judgment in a Medtronic Inc. hernia mesh case for lack of causation evidence (Val D. Emery, et al. v. Medtronic, Incorporated, et al., No. 19-20389, 5th Cir.).
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 denied Arizona’s motion to allow the state to file a complaint of original jurisdiction in the high court to discover assets allegedly hidden by opioid maker Purdue Pharma L.P.’s Sackler family (Arizona v. Richard Sackler, et al., No. 22 Original 151, U.S. Sup.).
BOSTON — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced Nov. 20 that charitable foundation The Assistance Fund (TAF) has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S. Code § 3729, by enabling drug manufacturers Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Biogen Inc. and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. to pay kickbacks to Medicare patients who took the companies’ drugs.
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 8 granted a defendants’ petition for interlocutory appeal of certification of a negotiation class in the opioid multidistrict litigation (In Re: McKesson Corporation, et al., No. 19-305, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33631).
New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on Nov. 26 vacated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and honest services fraud convictions of five top employees of opioid maker Insys Therapeutics Inc. but let stand their mail and wire fraud convictions (United States v. Michael J. Gurry, et al., No. 16-cr-10343, D. Mass., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205850).
NORMAN, Okla. — Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Nov. 22 asked an Oklahoma state court to stay enforcement of its $465.02 million opioid judgment pending appeal and to approve a $25 million supersedeas bond (Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., No. CJ-2017-816, Okla. Dist., Cleveland Co.).
CLEVELAND — Negotiating class counsel in the opioid multidistrict litigation tells the court in a Dec. 2 report that as of Nov. 27, 98 percent of the 34,458 class members opted to remain in the class (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2804, No. 17-md-2804, N.D. Ohio, Eastern Div.).
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 3 reversed dismissal of an Actos diabetes drug consumer lawsuit, finding that the plaintiffs had shown standing to sue under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (Painters and Allied Trades, et al. v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Limited, et al., No. 18-55588, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35844).
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 25 denied drug maker Pfizer Inc.’s petition for a writ of certiorari on whether by removing Lipitor cases to federal court the defendants forfeited the company’s right to challenge the personal jurisdiction of California courts (Pfizer, Inc., et al. v. Superior Court of California, et al., No. 19-278, U.S. Sup.).
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Superior Court on Nov. 26 affirmed a $76.66 million compensatory verdict in a Risperdal gynecomastia case, in part because defendants Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. allegedly concealed a study that found a statistically significant risk (A.Y., et al. v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., et al., Nos. 3058 EDA 2016 and 3059 EDA 2016, Pa. Super.).
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The current manufacturer of the over-the-counter heartburn drug Zantac and three former manufacturers on Nov. 27 told a federal judicial panel that they support the creation of a Zantac/ranitidine/N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) multidistrict litigation (In Re: Zantac/Ranitidine NDMA Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2924, JPMDL).
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 25 affirmed dismissal of a breach-of-contract and fraud lawsuit against a plaintiff law firm for allegedly mishandling a plaintiff’s breast implant claim (Beverly J. Ezra v. Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., No. 18-3742, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35676).
PHILADELPHIA — Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 20 preemption ruling, a panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 25 remanded 507 Fosamax femur fracture cases to a multidistrict litigation court in New Jersey for determination of whether the plaintiff’s claims are preempted (In Re: Fosamax [Alendronate Sodium] Product Liability Litigation, No. 14-2813, 3rd Cir.).
New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
PHILADELPHIA — In a 2-1 opinion, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in a Zimmer metal-on-metal hip case, saying that under Pennsylvania law, whether Pennsylvania’s discovery rule applies is a question of fact for a jury (Marilyn Adams v. Zimmer US Inc. et al., No. 18-3011, 3rd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34513).
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Nov. 20 vacated summary judgment in two Risperdal gynecomastia cases as being time-barred, ruling that the state Superior Court erred in determining if there was enough publicity about a cause and effect to put the plaintiffs on notice (In Re: Risperdal Litigation [Jonathan Saksek v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., No. 22 EAP 2018; Joshua Winter v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., No. 23 EAP 2018, Pa. Sup., 2019 Pa. LEXIS 6480).
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania state court judge on Oct. 30 denied without comment a Johnson & Johnson motion for him to recuse himself from a Risperdal gynecomastia case for allegedly celebrating an $8 billion punitive damages verdict with some members of the jury (Nicholas Murray v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al., No. 13040199000495, Pa. Comm. Pls., Philadelphia Co.).
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Two women on Nov. 12 filed a New York state class action complaint against the manufacturer of the pre-term pregnancy prevention drug Makena, arguing that the injectable drug is ineffective and overpriced (Teresa Faughnan, et al. v. AMAG, Inc., No. 19-1394, N.D. N.Y.).
CINCINNATI — On a 2-1 vote with a lengthy dissent, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 18 dismissed an appeal by two women who sought to enjoin opioid manufacturers from dispensing their drugs to women without a negative pregnancy test (Amanda Hanlon, et al. v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., No. 19-3398, 6th Cir., U.S. App. LEXIS 34350).