Mealey's Drugs & Devices
-
November 14, 2024
Exactech MDL Judge Stays All Proceedings After Bankruptcy Court Filing
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The federal judge overseeing the Exactech orthopedic device multidistrict litigation ordered that the MDL be stayed pending resolution of the company’s bankruptcy petition.
-
November 14, 2024
6th Circuit Upholds ASR Hip MDL Arbitration Award In Decade-Old Dispute
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s judgment confirming an arbitration award in a long-running contingency fee dispute between an attorney and a former client he represented in a DePuy ASR hip litigation, but in a concurrence, one judge criticized the actions of the attorney, saying his conduct “results in disrespect for the legal profession.”
-
November 13, 2024
Master Long-Form Complaint Filed in GLP-1 MDL Pending In Pennsylvania Federal Court
PHILADELPHIA — Counsel for plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation involving diabetes and diet drugs on Nov. 13 filed a master long-form complaint against the drug manufacturers, alleging that they “downplayed the nature, duration, extent and seriousness of gastrointestinal events and failed to warn about other adverse events.”
-
November 13, 2024
OTC Cold Medicine MDL Judge Dismisses All Cases, Won’t Wait For FDA Amendment
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The New York federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation stemming from allegations that over-the-counter cough and cold medications containing the active ingredient phenylephrine (PE) are ineffective at relieving nasal congestion dismissed all claims with prejudice on Nov. 12, rejecting a request by the plaintiffs to hold off granting the parties’ proposed order to dismiss all cases in light of a recent recommendation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
-
November 12, 2024
Acetaminophen Autism/ADHD MDL Reopens In New York After New Cases Filed
NEW YORK — The acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation, which was closed Aug. 26, has reopened in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after six cases were accepted as related to the MDL.
-
November 12, 2024
Settlement Reached In Post-Surgical Complication Suit In N.C. Federal Court
STATESVILLE, N.C. — An upcoming trial over allegations that a woman suffered post-surgical complications following spinal surgery that included a FiberCel product has been canceled after the parties told a North Carolina federal court on Nov. 11 that a settlement has been reached.
-
November 11, 2024
Judge Partly Dismisses Claims Over Woman’s Neuropathy From Zinc Supplements
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge partly granted and partly denied a motion to dismiss a woman’s lawsuit against a supplement maker accusing it of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by labeling its zinc supplement as containing a safe daily dose, which the woman alleges was not a safe dose and, after months of daily consumption, caused her to develop permanent peripheral neuropathy.
-
November 11, 2024
ASD-ADHD MDL Defendants Say Lower Court Properly Excluded Expert Testimony
NEW YORK — Arguments made by plaintiffs in the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation appealing a decision to exclude their expert witnesses “would transform the trial court’s role” in determining admissibility under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (JJCI) and retailers of acetaminophen argue in a brief before the Second Circuit Court U.S. Court of Appeals.
-
November 11, 2024
9th Circuit Denies Rehearing Of Intervention Denial In Mifepristone Suit
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a mandate to a federal court in Washington, instructing it that the appellate court’s denial of a motion filed by Idaho and other anti-abortion states to intervene in a case involving federal regulations for the abortion drug mifepristone can take effect after the court denied a petition for rehearing en banc.
-
November 11, 2024
Eye Drop Maker Agrees To Settle Claims Products Were Illegally Marketed
DENVER — A maker of a homeopathic eye drop has agreed to pay $3.57 million to settle class claims that it sold products without approval from U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to an unopposed motion filed in a Colorado federal court.
-
November 11, 2024
Parties In OTC Cold Medicine Case Mull How FDA’s Statement Will Impact MDL
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Parties in a multidistrict litigation stemming from allegations that over-the-counter cough and cold medications containing the active ingredient phenylephrine (PE) are ineffective at relieving nasal congestion filed a letter with the New York federal judge overseeing the MDL on how a recent recommendation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will impact the parties’ proposed order to dismiss all cases.
-
November 08, 2024
Consumers, Target Agree To End Case Over Misleading ‘Non-Drowsy’ Medicine Label
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge dismissed claims by consumers who allege that Target Corp. misled its customers by labeling its cold medicine as “non-drowsy” after the parties filed a joint stipulation agreeing to settle the case.
-
November 07, 2024
Taxotere MDL Judge Dismisses Cases Without Substitute For Deceased Plaintiff
NEW ORLEANS — The federal judge overseeing the Taxotere hair loss multidistrict litigation granted a series of motions to dismiss filed by the manufacturer of the drug, which argued that in each case the plaintiff had died and not been replaced (In Re: Taxotere [Docetaxel].
-
November 06, 2024
Judge Adopts Recommendation To Dismiss Defective Medical Device Case
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge overruled objections to a magistrate judge’s second report and recommendation (R&R) that a man’s case alleging that he was injured by a defective medical device be dismissed.
-
November 05, 2024
Paragard MDL Judge Sets Trial Dates For 1st 2 Bellwether Cases
ATLANTA —The judge overseeing the Paragard intrauterine device (IUD) multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has scheduled dates for the first two bellwether trials.
-
November 05, 2024
Kroger To Pay $1.37 Billion To States For Its Role In Opioid Epidemic
CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. and a bipartisan group of attorneys general on Nov. 4 finalized a $1.37 billion settlement with the supermarket chain to settle claims that the company failed to monitor suspicious opioid orders and contributed to the opioid addiction epidemic, according to a settlement agreement.
-
November 05, 2024
9th Circuit: Lower Court Properly Tossed Defective Device Case As Time-Barred
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a lower court did not err in finding that a man’s product liability claims over a defective medical device were time-barred by California’s two-year statute of limitations and there was no error in the court dismissing the action without leave to amend.
-
November 04, 2024
Louisiana Sued Over Law Classifying Abortion Drugs As Controlled Substances
BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana law that classifies misoprostol and mifepristone — two drugs used to induce early termination of pregnancy — as controlled dangerous substances is unconstitutional because it “threatens access to lifesaving medications for certain patients, and improperly interferes with timely and appropriate access for others with a range of physical conditions,” a doula practice in the state and others alleges in a complaint filed in state court.
-
October 31, 2024
Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices
New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
-
October 31, 2024
New York Federal Judge Finds State Claims Preempted In OTC Cold Medicine Case
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York federal judge dismissed a streamlined complaint filed by consumers who allege that over-the-counter cough and cold medications containing the active ingredient phenylephrine (PE) are ineffective at relieving nasal congestion after finding that the claims are preempted by federal law.
-
October 31, 2024
Michigan Sues PBMs For Role In State’s Opioid Crisis
LANSING, Mich. — The attorney general for Michigan alleges that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) “had a central role in facilitating the oversupply of opioids through contact that has the intended purpose of ignoring necessary safeguards to increase the prescribing, dispensing and sales of prescription opioids” and sued two of the nation’s largest PBMs in a state court, asserting violations of the state’s public nuisance laws and other claims.
-
October 30, 2024
Judge: Motley Rice Can Represent Boston In Public Nuisance Suit Against OptumRX
BOSTON — Citing a decision by the judge overseeing the opioid multidistrict litigation that rejected similar arguments, a Massachusetts federal judge denied a motion filed by a pharmacy benefit manager to disqualify Motley Rice LLC from representing Boston and others in a suit alleging public nuisance.
-
October 30, 2024
Hologic Announces Voluntary Recall Of Implantable BioZorb Marker Devices
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Hologic Inc., facing litigation from cancer patients who allege that an implanted radiographic marker used to mark soft tissue sites during cancer treatment was defective and caused injuries, announced that it is voluntarily removing all lots of unused BioZorb Marker and BioZorb LP Marker.
-
October 30, 2024
Judge Bars Economics Expert In Avandia Third-Party Payer’s Bid For Class Action
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the Avandia multidistrict litigation agreed with GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) that an economic expert retained by third-party payers who bought the diabetes pill and are seeking class certification cannot testify under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
-
October 29, 2024
Remand Denied In Defective Heart Device Case Removed To New York Federal Court
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge denied a motion to remand a wrongful death suit filed against the manufacturer of a heart a defibrillator device, finding that the manufacturer properly removed the case from a New York state court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction.