Leadership Positions Approved for Federal Valsartan Lawsuits

Leadership Positions Approved for Federal Valsartan Lawsuits

Introduction

Following the establishment of a multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2875) for all federal valsartan recall lawsuits, in the District of New Jersey, by the JPML in February 2019, the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler, issued the sixth case management order on May 06.

According to the order, the following leadership roles have been appointed by the court: four plaintiffs’ attorneys to serve as Co-Lead Counsel, two attorneys as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel, 11 attorneys to a Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, 10 attorneys to a Plaintiffs’ Economic Reimbursement committee, and 16 attorneys to a Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury Committee. The court further approved members to serve in the Defendants' Leadership Structure which included four Defendants’ Executive Committee members and two Defendants’ Liaison Counsel members.

Valsartan drug manufacturers and distributors currently face nearly 100 product liability lawsuits with claims that the distributed version of valsartan was contaminated with carcinogenic substances, including N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), which happens to be a by-product of the generic drug manufacturing process.