What Happened In The MassTorts World Last Week? 2019-Jul-22

GSK Warning-Label Verdict: Widow Fails To Reclaim $3M

An attempt to reinstate a $3 million verdict made by the wife of a law firm partner has been rejected by an Illinois federal judge on July 11.

The husband, a law firm partner, had consumed the generic version of Paxil, an antidepressant that belongs to a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), before jumping in front of a train to commit suicide in 2010. His wife filed a lawsuit against GSK in 2012, alleging GSK had failed to report adult suicide rates during its trial studies to the FDA. In an initial verdict, the attorney's widow was awarded $3 million which was later reversed by Seventh Circuit court, stating that the company cannot be held liable as he took a generic version of GSK's antidepressant Paxil. As per a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, generic drug companies are not liable for failing to provide adequate label warnings since federal law requires them to use brand versions' labels only. However, GSK blames the FDA for failing to update Paxil label warnings regarding adult suicide despite several requests to do so. At present, Paxil labels include warnings about suicide risks for patients below the age of 24.

U.S. District Court Judge Mariana Pfaelzer overlooks the MDL No. 1574 (Ninth Circuit: In re Paxil Products Liability Litigation) in the Central District of California for cases filed over withdrawal symptoms. Lawsuits involving birth defects are consolidated in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

J&J Talc Problem: Federal Authorities Launch Criminal Probe

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is facing a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice, stating that the company knew about problems with asbestos in talcum powder products, as well as its health risk to consumers, yet failed to provide any warning.

Individuals with the knowledge of probe indicate that a grand jury has been summoned in Washington, D.C., to look at documents suggesting that J&J knew about asbestos or asbestos-like fibers presence for decades. According to a special report published by Reuters in December, internal documents show J&J found asbestos in its talc during three different laboratory tests conducted from 1972-1975 but never reported its findings to the FDA. The data also highlights that J&J was aware of the problems even earlier, with reference to reports dating back to 1957 and 1958. These documents are now the focus of a criminal probe.

J&J currently faces nearly 14,000 Talcum Powder and Shower-to-Shower lawsuits, consolidated under multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2738; In Re: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation), in the District of New Jersey. The MDL is presided by Hon. Freda L. Wolfson, U.S.D.J., and Hon. Lois H. Goodman, U.S.M.J.

U.S. District Judge Reduces Roundup $80M Verdict To $25M

On July 15, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria reduced the $80M Roundup verdict to $25 million against Bayer AG owned Monsanto after finding that punitive damages component of $75 million awarded to a plaintiff was unreasonably high.

On March 27, a federal jury awarded $5 million in compensatory and $75 million in punitive damages to the plaintiff, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014. The judge stated that $5M as compensatory damages was sufficient as it supported the evidence presented at trial, and the $75 million as punitive damages component was constitutionally impermissible as it was 15 times the size of compensatory damages. The judge found that the punitive damages exceeded the constitutional limit and reduced the award to $20 million, with the total amounting to $25 million. Bayer still plans to appeal the verdict, and the plaintiff may appeal to Chhabria’s decision as he disagrees with any reduction in the jury verdict.

Bayer and its subsidiary, Monsanto, acquired a year ago, now face more than 15,000 Roundup lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria is presiding over all the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2741; In Re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation) in the Northern District of California.

Calif. Attorney General’s Pelvic Mesh Lawsuit Set In Motion

A trial has commenced, against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and it's subsidiary Ethicon brought by a state attorney general and attorneys for the state of California for allegedly deceiving up to 50,000 California women and hiding the possible painful, lifelong complications caused by using its pelvic mesh devices.

On the first day of the bench trial, California Deputy Attorney General Jinsook Ohta told San Diego County Superior Court Judge Eddie Sturgeon that the defendants lied about the safety of two lines of mesh products: Tension-free Vaginal Tape or TVT, used to treat stress urinary incontinence and Prolift, used to treat pelvic organ prolapse. Judge Ohta also claimed that the polypropylene mesh used in the products could degrade and fray, could be rejected by the patient’s body, could become enmeshed in a lump of scar tissue, and could become “colonized” by bacteria. J&J refused these possible complications and only mentioned the risk of erosion.

The state would be seeking $5,000 in civil penalties for each of J&J’s violations and $2,500 each for violating the state’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law, as per the judge.

U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin is presiding overall Ethicon pelvic mesh lawsuits consolidated under multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2327; In Re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation) in the Southern District of West Virginia.

Okla. Vs. J&J Opioid-Crisis Trial Wrapped

Trial testimony in the high-profile case involving Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Oklahoma state over the ravages of the opioid crisis ended on Monday.

Following eight weeks of testimony, attorneys representing the state and the pharmaceutical giant have made their final arguments in a historic bench trial. During the trial, J&J argued for an early win claiming that the state failed to produce enough evidence to support its case, whereas the state compared the defendants to 'kingpin' for fuelling the U.S. opioid epidemic. J&J had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in the early weeks of the month, which was later dismissed by Oklahoma District Judge Thad Balkman. The state urged Judge Thad Balkman, to find J&J liable for the epidemic and force it to pay up to $17 billion over 30 years.

Judge Balkman affirmed that he would rule after receiving briefs from both sides due July 31.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster is presiding over all opioid lawsuits consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation).

$500K Verdict Against J&J in Pelvic Mesh Lawsuit

A plaintiff was awarded $500,000 in damages by the Philadelphia jury in the verdict against Johnson & Johnson’s unit Ethicon on June 28, after finding that the design defects in a pelvic mesh implant left the plaintiff suffering from pain.

The plaintiff was implanted with the mesh device in 2007 to assist with a condition known as pelvic organ prolapse. In 2009, the plaintiff’s doctor found that the mesh was eroding the vaginal wall. The first instance of erosion healed on its own. Later in 2015, a severe erosion occurred which resulted in an operation, where most of the implant was removed. The plaintiff claimed that till date, she experiences complications related to mesh implant and removal.

The plaintiff's attorney stated that it is the ninth time in these vaginal mesh cases that Johnson & Johnson has been found to have acted wrongfully. The plaintiff becomes the 11th woman to bring mesh-related claims against Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Ethicon to trial in Philadelphia court. Ethicon stated that they disagree with the jury’s verdict and plans to appeal.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Zostavax

On July 2, the children of a woman filed a lawsuit against Merck & Co. for the death of their mother allegedly caused due to the side effects of the shingles vaccine Zostavax.

According to the court documents, the mother was injected with the shingles vaccine on April 28, 2015, at Walgreens Pharmacy. She started suffering from a severe outbreak of disseminated shingles following the vaccination by June 1. This resulted in hospitalization, where she died on July 3, 2015. The outbreak had affected her organs and other bodily systems.

Zostavax, introduced in 2006, is a single-dose injection containing live virus used to vaccinate older adults against the development of shingles. It has been linked to developing severe and more persistent shingles outbreaks, as well as other infections and auto-immune disorders, shortly after exposure to Zostavax. A safer alternative Shingrix vaccine is available, which does not involve the use of a live virus.

The lawsuit joins hundreds of other shingles vaccine lawsuits filed by individuals nationwide who experienced problems with Zostavax. The litigation is centralized before U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under MDL No. 2848.