Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2021-Oct-11

Louisiana & Teva Pharmaceuticals Agree On $15M Opioid Deal

The attorney general of Louisiana and Teva Pharmaceuticals have reached a $15 million settlement to deal with the opioid epidemic and claims throughout the state against the company.

Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay $15 million over the period of 18 years to the state of Louisiana. An additional $3 million is also granted to the state as an opioid addiction and recovery plan that will be used for medicinal purposes.

Teva faces numerous litigations across the US states along with other drugmakers like Johnson & Johnson, Endo International and AbbVie’s Allergan. All the litigations claim that the companies illicitly marketed the opioid drugs without highlighting the addictions risks associated with them.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J), along with three other drug distributors, are proceeding with a $26 billion opioid settlement for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic across the U.S. Teva is not included in the settlement as the company did not offer enough cash for the settlement.

The spokesperson for Teva stated that the company is positively looking forward to settling the upcoming litigations and helping the opioid affected people by offering life-saving medicines against opioids.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 500,000 lives have been lost due to opioid overdose since 1999 in America.

Three major drug distributors namely AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson will pay $75 million to Cherokee Nation over six-and-a-half years to resolve opioid-related claims.

In April 2017, Cherokee Nation sued the distributors for selling opioids in the black market which is against the Cherokee laws and also had negative consequences on its communities.

The attorney general of Cherokee Nation said that the settlement would help to deal with the deadly consequences of the opioid crisis that has ruined the health of the tribe members. It would also help to execute mental health treatment facilities and other programs that would speed up the recovery process of the people affected because of the crisis.

The tribe is the first among the governments across the country that has sued Big Pharma. The tribe even has pending claims against Walmart, Walgreens and CVS which the tribe intends to pursue through trial.

There are many such claims across the U.S. from state and local governments, as well as other tribal nations. It also includes an MDL in Cleveland, Ohio, but the tribe's settlement is independent of all the other claims.

Earlier, three distributors along with drug maker Johnson & Johnson reached a $26 billion settlement for the states and counties across the country for fueling the opioid crisis, but Cherokee Nation is not part of the agreement.

In September 2021, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) agreed to pay a partial settlement of around $1.3 million to $3 million to Orange County for fueling the opioid epidemic that resulted in several deaths due to opioid addiction.

The officials representing the county said that the final settlement amount would depend on the number of counties accepting the agreement. The amount will be higher if the maximum number of counties sign the agreement.

J&J will make the first payment in the settlement in February. The funds would be used to tackle the opioid addiction in the county. It will even fund the opioid treatment programmes and support services that are designed to help the people struggling with addiction problems.

The spokesperson for Orange County said that the opioid manufacturers and distributors were aware of the addictive qualities of the drugs, yet marketed and sold them for profits. The settlement would not bring back the lost lives, but it will surely give some sigh of relief to the affected people and their families.

Orange County witnessed a 25% growth as compared to last year in the death rate due to opioid overdose. Last year, opioid overdose resulted in over 70,000 deaths in the U.S. To date, 500,000 deaths are linked to opioid overdose in the country.

U.S. Army Veteran To Get $8.2M In 3M Lawsuit

A federal jury has awarded $8.2 million in an ongoing series of bellwether trials to a U.S. military veteran who suffered hearing loss and tinnitus because of using 3M military earplugs.

As per the court documents, the veteran filed a tinnitus and hearing loss lawsuit against 3M and Aearo in January 2020. The jury awarded the verdict in the veteran's favor by concluding that 3M failed to warn the users about the defective design of the earplugs and implementing fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment of the product.

More than 250,000 veterans are awaiting settlement from 3M Company and its Aearo Technologies subsidiary over their claims of defective 3M earplugs. The military service members used the earplugs while in service between 2003 and 2015. The company will face more than a half-dozen bellwether claims involving 3M earplugs that will go before juries between November 2021 and February 2022.

The earplugs had a reversible design that blocked all the sound when inserted in one way and would provide selective hearing of spoken commands by reducing the loud impulse sounds when inserted in another way. However, the plaintiffs argued that the earplugs are defectively designed, as they would not fit the ear canal and eventually fell out.

U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers is overseeing the 3M earplugs federal MDL in the Northern District of Florida, where all the lawsuits are centralized for a coordinated discovery of certain evidence and testimony.

Earlier, the U.S. District Judge has agreed to consolidate three different claims of  3M Combat Arms earplug lawsuits into one trial, which will begin in January 2022 before a federal jury.

The current consolidated trial, set to begin in January 2022, is similar to the first bellwether trial of combat arms earplugs held in April 2021, where three military veterans were awarded $7.1 million. The company provided defective earplugs to the service members, which resulted in the court's ruling against it. The second trial was ruled in favor of 3M in May 2021, and the third trial resulted in a $1.7 million verdict against the manufacturer.

Each of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claims 3M was aware of the defective design of the earplugs but still sold it to the U.S. government without fair guidelines about the usage of the products. The earplugs could not seal the ear canal effectively and fall out from the service members' ears.

These bellwether trials will prevent repetitive findings and discussions in the large number of 3M lawsuits that are about to go before the federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers has already scheduled two bellwether trials that will go before separate juries in September and October 2021 before the current trial, including the three veterans.

Currently, 3M faces more than 230,000 product liability lawsuits with similar allegations that the earplugs were defective and resulted in hearing loss, tinnitus, and other ear problems to the U.S. service members. All the 3M lawsuits are consolidated before U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers as a part of an MDL in the Northern District of Florida.

Bayer Wins First Roundup Cancer Lawsuit

Bayer wins a Roundup cancer lawsuit after the family of a 10-year-old boy who got diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma failed to provide relevant evidence claiming that the weedkiller caused the disease.

As per the lawsuit, the parents of the boy claimed that the child got exposed to the weedkiller, which was sprayed in the yard around their home in Walnut, California. The parents claimed that it eventually resulted in the child to diagnose with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

However, the parents failed to provide relevant evidence to prove the weedkiller caused the disease, which resulted in the first win for the company in Roundup lawsuits. Earlier, three trials resulted in nearly $200 million combined settlements against Bayer and Monsanto, as the juries found that the companies were ignorant about the linkage of Roundup with cancer.

Last year, Bayer announced to pay more than $10 billion to settle about 100,000 cases. Most of these settlements have not been accepted by the plaintiffs and are set to go before the juries in the coming years.

More than 120,00 Roundup lawsuits have been brought before the federal jury against Bayer and its Monsanto subsidiary, claiming that the company glyphosate-based weed killer causes cancer. The lawsuits even allege that the company withheld the risks associated with the weedkiller for profits. Although the company has paid billions in settlements to resolve thousands of cases, more trials have been scheduled in the courts across the U.S.

Earlier, Bayer 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 unfa vorable 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.

In a similar suit, where a A 70-year-old Californian woman sued Bayer by making allegations that after regular usage of the company's Roundup weedkiller, she developed Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

As per the court documents, the plaintiff got diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017 as she used Roundup on her property for more than 30 years. The old age and deteriorating health of the plaintiff resulted in the fast-tracking of the lawsuit for an early outcome. The outcomes, evidence, and testimony can be used by the juries in other potential bellwether trials.

It will be the first Roundup trial to be held since 2020, as most of the U.S. judicial system shut down its operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is looking forward to settling the Roundup cases rather than uncertain jury trials.

Bayer has even announced that it will keep aside $4.5 billion as a reserve to cover the costs for the upcoming trials and ongoing settlements.

120,000 Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) cases have been filed by former Roundup users against Bayer and its subsidiary Monsanto. All the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuits allege the manufacturer withheld the risks associated with the weedkiller from the users for making a profit.

Earlier, Bayer suffered huge losses in Roundup trials held in 2018 and 2019. The company has even agreed to pay billions to settle the upcoming lawsuits that will go for a trial before the state and federal juries.

All the Roundup lawsuits are centralized before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in the Northern District of California for a coordinated discovery of evidence and testimony. The judge is even preparing to resolve numerous cases. He has ordered the plaintiffs to take part in a mediation program that will help to get a settlement for every plaintiff involved in the litigation.