Reuters – Here are some upcoming events of interest to the product liability community. All times are local.
Monday, Aug. 2
9 a.m. – The first bellwether trial is scheduled to begin before Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargusin in Columbus, Ohio in multidistrict litigation over Becton, Dickinson and Co subsidiary C.R. Bard’s hernia mesh. Plaintiff Steven Johns alleges he was implanted with the company’s Ventralight ST hernia mesh and subsequently suffered a recurrence of the hernia, pain and decreased mobility after the device failed. His case is one of more than 13,000 consolidated in the MDL. Tuesday’s hearing will also include a case management conference for the MDL.
The bellwether case is Johns v. C.R. Bard et al, No. 18-cv-01509, and the MDL is In re: Davol Inc/C.R. Bard Inc Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, No. 18-md-02846, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio.
For plaintiffs: David Butler of Taft Stettinius & Hollister.
For Bard: Lori Cohen of Greenberg Traurig.
10 a.m. – The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will hear telephonic oral arguments in a patent infringement case brought by Adapt Pharma accusing Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of copying Narcan, its widely used opioid overdose nasal spray treatment. Adapt argues that U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti in New Jersey improperly ruled its patents obvious following a bench trial on the grounds that each claimed patent limitation could be found in prior art, without fully considering whether a person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to combined them.
The case is Adapt Pharma Operations v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc, Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, No. 20-2106.
For Adapt: Catherine Stetson of Hogan Lovells.
For Teva: John Rozendaal of Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox.
Tuesday, Aug. 3
11 a.m. – A telephonic status hearing is scheduled before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago in a multidistrict litigation against Boeing Co over the 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Victims’ families are seeking to hold Boeing liable for alleged defects in the 737 MAX plane, which recently returned to service after being grounded in the wake of the crash and another similar one.
The case is In re Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 Crash, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:19-cv-02170.
For plaintiffs: Robert Clifford of Clifford Law Offices; Justin Green of Kreindler & Kreindler; Steven Marks of Podhurst Orseck; and others.
For Boeing: Dan Webb of Winston & Strawn; Mack Shultz of Perkins Coie; and others.
Wednesday, Aug. 4
2 p.m. – A case management conference is scheduled via videoconference before U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Oakland, California in litigation over claims that Gilead Sciences Inc’s HIV drugs Viread, Truvada, Atripla, Complera and Stribild cause damage to patients’ kidneys and bones. Plaintiffs allege that Gilead was aware the products were unsafe but concealed the risk from consumers while making billions from the drugs.
The case is Holley v. Gilead Sciences Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-cv-06972.
For plaintiffs: Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.
For Gilead: Debra Pole of Sidley Austin.
Thursday, Aug. 5
9:15 a.m. – A trial is scheduled to begin before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago in a case brought by a man who alleges he had a heart attack as a result of using AbbVie Inc’s testosterone replacement drug AndroGel. The plaintiff, Brad Martin, is one of fewer than 100 plaintiffs remaining in a multidistrict litigation over testosterone replacement products’ alleged link to cardiovascular problems after AbbVie settled more than 4,000 cases in 2018. Martin’s case was chosen as a bellwether trial. AbbVie won several previous bellwether trials, and got two large verdicts against it overturned.
The bellwether case is Martin et al v. Actavis Inc et al, U.S. District Court, No. 15-cv-04292; the MDL is In re Testosterone Replacement Therapy Products Liability Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 14-cv-1748.
For Martin: James O’Brien of O’Brien Law.
For AbbVie: Jeffrey Peck of Ulmer & Berne.
Know of an event that could be included in Week Ahead in Products Liability? Contact Brendan Pierson at brendan.pierson@thomsonreuters.com
