Bard IVC Filter Lawsuits: Case Management Order Issued

Bard IVC Filter Lawsuits: Case Management Order Issued

Introduction

In a case management order issued on February 8,  U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell agreed to consider a proposal submitted by C.R. Bard, requesting the court to establish a separate track for IVC filter cases in the MDL which are likely to get settled, including those cases which are in principle or near settlement stage, rather than remanding all of them. Judge Campbell stated the court will decide on the proposal and asked the parties to submit a joint proposal earliest by March 1.

According to the order, “any such proposal would need to specify the basis on which a case would be identified to be placed on a settlement track rather than being remanded to the transferor court, establish a schedule under which cases on the settlement track would either reach a completed settlement or be remanded, and a schedule for when the settlement track would be initiated and how long it would remain in place.”  Once the proposals are received, the court will decide whether a separate track for certain Bard IVC filter cases nearing settlement will be appropriate, or whether the MDL cases must be remanded to District Courts nationwide, if the litigation remains unresolved after the last bellwether trial. After receiving mixed outcomes of a series of early trials, Judge Campbell remanded some mature cases back to different U.S. District Courts for separate trials. The judge suggested if settlements are not reached by the parties soon, this will be continued.

There are more than 5,700 lawsuits pending against C.R. Bard, raising allegations that the plaintiffs suffered serious complications due to the IVC filter's defective design. Similar lawsuits have been centralized as multidistrict litigation(MDL No. 2641; In Re: Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation) in the District of Arizona since August 2015 before Judge David G. Campbell.