Mealey's Drugs & Devices : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Drugs & Devices

September 22, 2023
MDL Special Master Pledges Impartiality, Won’t Recuse After Replying All To Email

CLEVELAND — The special master whom two pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) moved to disqualify from the opioid multidistrict litigation responded Sept. 21 in an affidavit declaring that he does “not now have, and [has] never had, any disqualifying personal bias or prejudice toward them (or any other party in the Opioid MDL).”
September 20, 2023
Woman Sues Drug Manufacturers, Says OTC Cold Medicine Not Effective

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A woman filed a putative class action in a Missouri federal court, alleging that she and others similarly situated purchased over-the-counter (OTC) decongestant products containing phenylephrine (PE) that were ineffective.
September 19, 2023
1st Circuit Says Lactaid Labeling Claims Are Preempted, Affirms Dismissal

BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 18 affirmed dismissal of a woman’s claim that she was misled into purchasing Lactaid products, with the appeals court finding that her claims are preempted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s statutory enforcement authority under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)
September 18, 2023
Government Urges High Court To Uphold ‘Bedrock Principle’ Of Chevron Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. secretary of Commerce, two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the government) urge the U.S. Supreme Court in a Sept. 15 brief to not overrule the doctrine of Chevron deference in a challenge to fishery regulations that were upheld by the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, writing that doing so could “cause disruption” to complex federal regulatory schemes.
September 18, 2023
Expert In Alleged Faulty Knee Implant Case Can Testify, Wash. Federal Judge Rules

SEATTLE — A federal magistrate judge in Washington on Sept. 15 found that an expert retained by a patient who is suing a medical device manufacturer after a failed knee implant can base his conclusions on the notes of the surgeon and denied the manufacturer’s motion to exclude his testimony.
September 14, 2023
Leadership Team For Plaintiffs In Bard Port Catheter MDL Proposed

PHOENIX — Attorneys representing claimants alleging injury from C.R. Bard Inc.’s implanted port catheter device in the newly formed multidistrict litigation moved for the appointment of the plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel and other leadership posts.
September 14, 2023
Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices

New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
September 14, 2023
Securities Fraud Claims Trimmed In Class Suit Against COVID Vaccine Contractor

BALTIMORE — A federal judge in Maryland has partially granted and partially denied a motion to dismiss securities fraud claims leveled against a COVID-19 vaccine contractor that experienced contamination issues at its Bayview, Md., manufacturing facility and several of its executives, dismissing reported-results fraud and internal-controls fraud claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 but allowing business operations fraud claims under Section 10(b) to survive for alleged material misstatements made between July 6, 2020, and May 19, 2021.
September 13, 2023
6th Circuit Certifies Question To Ohio Supreme Court In Opioid Verdict Appeal

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals certified a question to the Ohio Supreme Court regarding whether a common-law public nuisance claim is permitted under the Ohio Product Liability Act in an appeal of a $650 million verdict awarded to two counties filed by a trio of pharmacies.
September 13, 2023
Judge Asked To Dismiss 129 Cases In Bair Hugger MDL For Pretrial Order Violations

MINNEAPOLIS — Defendants in the Bair Hugger multidistrict litigation filed a 10th motion to dismiss, asking a federal judge to toss 129 cases for failure to comply with a pretrial order or for lack of standing.
September 12, 2023
1st Bellwether Trial Date Set For Paragard IUD MDL

ATLANTA — The first bellwether case for the Paragard IUD multidistrict litigation centered in a Georgia federal court will be held in October 2024, a federal judge announced in an amended scheduling order.
September 12, 2023
Government Declines To Intervene In Acetaminophen Autism/ADHD MDL

NEW YORK — The New York federal judge overseeing the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation on Sept. 11 denied a request for a status conference, days after being told by the U.S. government that it was declining the court’s invitation to submit a response in the case.
September 11, 2023
Trial Dates Set For Next 2 Davol/Bard Hernia Patch Bellwether Cases

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A case management conference was held in an Ohio federal court, setting the stage for the third and fourth Davol/C.R. Bard hernia mesh multidistrict litigation bellwether trials.
September 11, 2023
Testimony In Metal-On-Metal Hip Replacement Device Case Limited In Federal Court

PHOENIX — An Arizona federal judge agreed to limit expert testimony offered by a man alleging that a defective “metal-on-metal” hip replacement device caused an injury and barred another expert who previously served as a consultant for the device manufacturer from testifying.
September 11, 2023
Judge Dismisses Claims Over Contaminated Laxatives On Preemption Grounds

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A New York federal judge has dismissed claims filed by two women who allege that they were injured by deceptive labeling of certain laxative products that allegedly were contaminated with a bacterium after finding the claims preempted by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
September 11, 2023
Man Alleges Defective Ankle-Monitoring Device Causes Skin Injuries

DENVER — A South Carolina man has filed a proposed class action in a Colorado federal court against a manufacturer of an ankle-monitoring device, alleging that the device causes rashes and skin infections.
September 11, 2023
FDA, Mifepristone Maker Ask For High Court Review Of Stay Upheld By 5th Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The manufacturer of the abortion drug mifepristone and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 8 filed separate petitions for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in upholding a district court’s stay of the FDA’s 2016 amendments to mifepristone’s approval and the agency’s 2021 decision not to enforce its regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
September 08, 2023
Walgreens To Settle Arizona Theranos Case For $44 Million

PHOENIX — Plaintiffs have asked an Arizona federal court to approve a $44 million settlement agreement with pharmacy chain Walgreens to resolve class claims involving tests conducted in Arizona and California pharmacies by the now-defunct Theranos Inc. blood testing company.
September 08, 2023
Kroger Agrees To Pay $1.2 Billion To Settle Nationwide Opioid Claims

CINCINNATI — Supermarket chain Kroger Co. has agreed to pay up to $1.2 billion to states and $36 million to Native American tribes to fund abatement efforts to settle the majority of pending or potential claims that the company failed to monitor suspicious opioid orders and created a public nuisance from the opioid addiction epidemic, according to the company’s Sept. 8 press release.
September 07, 2023
$479M Settlement Proposed For Economic Claims In Recalled CPAP Device MDL

PITTSBURGH — Koninklijke Philips NV on Sept. 7 agreed to pay at least $479 million to settle all economic claims in a multidistrict litigation involving the recall of approximately 10.8 million of the company’s continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices and respirators, according to a brief filed in a Pennsylvania federal court.
September 05, 2023
Smart Insulin Pen, App User Says Company Shared Personal Data

LOS ANGELES — A user of a smart insulin pen and its corresponding app sued the manufacturer in a California federal court, alleging that the company improperly shared users’ personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) to Google and other third parties.
September 05, 2023
Plaintiffs, Defendants Settle 137 Physiomesh Hernia Patch MDL Cases

ATLANTA — Counsel for parties in the Ethicon Physiomesh hernia patch multidistrict litigation asked the court on Sept. 1 to dismiss with prejudice 137 cases after the parties agreed to settle all claims.
August 31, 2023
Taxotere MDL Judge Dismisses Claims For Failure To Properly Serve Defendants

NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana federal judge overseeing the Taxotere hair loss multidistrict litigation granted a motion filed by the defendants to dismiss 153 plaintiffs who failed to comply with a court-ordered deadline to properly serve their complaints.
August 31, 2023
Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices

New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
August 30, 2023
Parties Agree To Settle Hip Implant Device Case Pending In Tennessee Appeals Court

JACKSON, Tenn. — A Tennessee appeals court dismissed with prejudice an appeal filed by a man who alleges that a trial court erred in granting summary judgment to a hip-implant device manufacturer after the parties told the court that they have reached a settlement.