Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2021-Aug-23

MDL Panel Rejects To Consolidate Belviq Lawsuits

A Judicial Panel has refused to centralize Belviq lawsuits against Eisai Inc. and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. in an MDL stating there are too few lawsuits filed against the manufacturers post the recall of the drug. 

The attorneys who are asking for consolidating the Belviq litigation claim that the lawsuits will grow into thousands in the coming days, but the fact is that only a small number of Belviq lawsuits have been filed since last 18 months when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered to recall the drug from the U.S. market.

As per the court documents, the Belviq manufacturers face 12 personal injury suits and a proposed class action with similar allegations that Belviq causes cancer. The panel informed that the plaintiffs claimed the drug resulted in a variety of cancers like breast cancer, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, and cancer of the parotid gland.

In February 2020, the FDA ordered the removal of the drug from the market, considering clinical studies that highlighted the growing number of cancer patients.

Belviq is a weight loss drug used to treat obesity. The manufacturers conducted various studies on the animals before introducing the drug in the drug market. The studies concluded that Belviq could cause cancer and need additional testing. However, the manufacturers ignored the studies and manipulated the results of the animal studies to trick the FDA to approve the drug.

Earlier, manufacturers of Belviq, Eisai Inc., and Arena Pharmaceuticals also opposed the consolidation of the cases.

Bayer Loses Third Appeal Against U.S. Court Verdicts

Bayer, the manufacturer of Roundup, has lost a third appeal against the U.S. court verdicts over the case of glyphosate weedkiller. The court has awarded damages to customers diagnosed with cancer due to pesticides containing glyphosates.  

On Aug 9, 2021, a California court supported the $86 million verdict where Bayer was accused of a couple's cancer. In February 2020, Bayer filed an appeal stating that sound science does not reconcile the verdict.

After the verdict, Bayer made the statement that it respectfully disagrees with the court’s ruling, which is not supported by evidence at trial. Bayer also stated that the company is taking all measures to make Roundup safe for its users.

The German corporate giant has also confirmed to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court this month for reviewing a similar Roundup case that went in favor of the user.

In the previous month, Bayer announced a $4.5 billion additional litigation provision to prepare for an unfavorable ruling by the Supreme Court. The herbicide manufacturer has also kept aside $11.6 billion for settlements and litigation in the matter.

Bayer stated it has a clear intention to continue selling its product in the U.S. market. To contain legal damage, the weedkiller manufacturer has also planned to replace the cancer-causing ingredient glyphosate with other active ingredients.

Thousands Of Bair Hugger Infection Lawsuits Revived

A federal appeals court has reinstated more than 6,000 Bair Hugger infection lawsuits against 3M that allege the warming system results in severe infections among the users.

The attorneys for the plaintiffs claim that two theories highlight the scope of infection, namely “airflow disruption” and "dirty machine.” As per the "airflow disruption," the current created by the Bair Hugger's heat carries ambient bacteria, which causes infection. The "dirty machine” theory claims that the Bair Hugger is internally contaminated with bacteria, making it more unhealthy for the users.

The MDL court even rejected the claims from an epidemiologist and an orthopedic surgeon, as their studies and opinions were misguiding and lacked reliability. It even denied the model presented by an engineering expert that claimed the bacteria infected the patient.

As per the court documents, plaintiffs alleged that the Bair Hugger system caused infections. The lawsuits were centralized in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, which were later dismissed in 2019.

The device has a portable heater/blower that is connected to the blanket. It blows the heated air in the blanket and keeps the patient warm.

3M also faces 230,000 product liability lawsuits against its combat arms earplugs, alleging that the defective design of the products has resulted in severe hearing loss, tinnitus, and other major ear problems among the U.S. service members.

More Local Governments Sign On Ohio's $808M Opioid Settlement

Attorney General Dave Yost informed that enough local officials of Ohio signed the proposed $800 million-plus settlement between opioid companies and state and local governments.

The settlement is fair enough as per the AG, but it requires final approval from the opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, McKesson, and Columbus-based Cardinal Health, along with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J). The deal is a part of the nationwide settlement of $21 billion, which is to be paid by the drug distributors and manufacturers considering their role in the country's opioid epidemic.

As per the agreement, 95% of the 143 local governments are required to sign the agreement, but the number stood at 86% earlier, which made the settlement tricky. Currently, 135 local governments with a 96% population are supporting the settlement.

One of the officials from the municipalities stated that the delay in acknowledging the agreement was not intentional, but the limited time window for the approval was the main reason as some of the officials meet just once a month.

55% of the agreement amount will be given to the foundation that would conduct addiction treatment programs. 30% would be allotted to the local governments and 15% to the state.

The plaintiffs even allege that the drug manufacturers were aware of the risks associated with the opioid painkillers yet distributed them in the market.

J&J has agreed to stop manufacturing opioids and will pay $5 billion over nine years for fueling the opioid epidemic throughout the country.

Earlier, a settlement of up to $24.9 million is approved by the Lucas County commissioners in the statewide opioid lawsuits against the distributors and manufacturers.

Many municipalities across the state have joined the OneOhio plan that is focused on distributing funds to local jurisdictions from the National Prescription Opioid Litigation settlement, and Lucas County is one of them. The plan will ensure that each township and city within Lucas County will receive fair compensation. $809 million has been allotted to the state of Ohio from the national settlement of opioids.

AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson are the three major companies that will pay the amount of the settlement to the county. The attorney representing the county said that Lucas County is to receive between $4.5 million and $6.4 million to deal with opioid-related issues.

The amount will completely depend on the number of Ohio municipalities signing the agreement. The settlement is calculated considering the number of diagnosed opioid use disorders and deaths in the jurisdiction.

The attorney for the county even informed that a 29-member nonprofit foundation board of the county would vote to decide the best way to spend 55 percent of the settlement amount to address the opioid crisis.

The settlement would not bring the lost lives back, but it will surely help to control the further opioid crisis and deal with the currently affected users, said the attorney for the county. The board president of the nonprofit foundation said that the amount is huge, but splitting the settlement for 18 years is the best way to compensate the affected users, counties, and municipalities.

The attorney even informed that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is also a part of the national opioid litigation, but it is not liable for this portion of the settlement.

Earlier, Connecticut's attorney general has committed to getting $300 million for the state from the $26 billion opioid settlement offered by the pharmaceutical distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

Attorney General William Tong wrote in a letter informing about how the settlement amount will fund strategies, initiatives and programs. It will help the states, victims and their families to overcome the opioid crisis.

Some advocates and politicians have objected to depositing the settlement amount in the state’s general fund. They showed concern considering the misuse of the millions of dollars received by the state every year in the 1998 Big Tobacco settlement for smoking prevention and cessation.

Connecticut will receive $300 million over the next 18 years, as per the agreement. The state will get $26 million for the initial three years, and a varied sum of amount will be allotted for the next fifteen years. Pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, along with J&J, will pay the amount.

Municipalities and the state signing on the agreement will get 85% and 15% respectively from the settlement amount allotted to Connecticut. 70% of the allotted funds to the state will be used for controlling future crisis whereas 15% will be used for general abatement measures. The amount will also cover the attorney's fees.

Last year, opioid overdose claimed 1,400 lives in Connecticut and 93,000 lives throughout the nation.

J&J even face several lawsuits over its talcum powder products, with nationwide women alleging the company's baby powder of causing ovarian cancer. 12,00 women and their families have filed lawsuits against the company in the past 25 years with similar allegations of cancer-causing ingredients in the talc products.

Earlier, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas announced a deal with opioid manufacturers and distributors that requires the drugmakers to pay $216 million to Arkansas in the opioid MDL.

Three major pharmaceutical distributors, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, along with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (J&J), will pay the settlement amount to Arkansas. The agreement will settle a number of opioid litigations faced by the companies and will also prevent the future opioid crisis.

The Attorney General said that opioid overdose has resulted in several deaths in Arkansas during the past decade. Many families from the state have lost their loved ones because of the opioid crisis. The settlement will not bring back the lost lives, but it will surely help to prevent opioid addiction problems among the people of Arkansas. The settlement amount will be used to educate and treat people suffering from opioid addiction problems.

Nearly 4000 opioid lawsuits have been filed in federal and state courts across the country, and the agreement would resolve those claims. States can sign the agreement in 30 days, whereas the local governments have up to 150 days to participate in the deal.

Arkansas will sign the agreement after reviewing the final documents of the deal. The state would receive $216 million as a settlement for the opioid crisis.

The settlement is a part of the $26 billion deal announced by a federal judge to tackle the opioid epidemic throughout the nation. J&J will pay $5 billion, and the distributors will pay the remaining amount of $21 billion.