What Happened In The MassTorts World Last Week? 2019-Sep-23
Opioid Defendants Want Federal Judge Disqualified
On Saturday, September 14, attorneys representing drug manufacturing and distributing companies filed a motion for the disqualification of US District Judge Dan Polster from opioid litigation hearings.
According to the motion filed, attorneys on behalf of two groups of defendants which include the retailers Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, and CVS, and the drug distribution companies Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen, and McKesson claimed, over the past 21 months, Judge Dan Polster has shown bias against the defendants. The motion comes before a critical hearing that has been scheduled for September 23, in Cleveland before Judge Polster.
The motion further states Judge Polster had intentions to resolve the case within a year, which not only crossed the deadline but also moved to two-track litigation. One track is intended for settlement, and the other is aimed for litigation, featuring the trial scheduled to begin next month.
Peter Weinberger, a lead lawyer for the plaintiffs in the upcoming trial, believes the motion is an attempt by the opioid defendants to delay the trial. Also, Howard Erichson, a Fordham law professor who is an expert in complex litigation and legal ethics, said that the move could be to push the federal judge to rule more favorably for defendants during the trial.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, failing to resist the pressure from more than 2,600 lawsuits that allege the company fueled the opioid epidemic.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster is presiding over more than 1,900 opioid lawsuits consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation).
Earlier, Purdue Pharma's multibillion-dollar settlement deal over the claims that the drugmaker illegally marketed opioid painkillers was agreed by twenty-three states and three territories.
OxyContin maker and its owners, the Sackler family would pay $3 billion and file for bankruptcy, cede itself over to a trust controlled by the states, cities, and counties that have sued and sell its U.K.-based drugmaker Mundipharma as per the current proposal. The settlement value is between $10 billion and $12 billion which depends on future sales of the painkiller and the development of drugs to treat opioid addiction.
The company is looking forward to reaching a comprehensive resolution that would deliver billions of dollars and vital opioid overdose rescue medicines to communities across the country. Currently, the company faces around 2,500 lawsuits brought by every state as well as cities, counties and Native American tribes. It will even negotiate separately with the U.S. Justice Department to resolve criminal and civil probes.
Many large states have opposed Purdue Pharma's agreement of filing for bankruptcy. The company's lawyers proposed the deal on August 20 in Cleveland. 10 state attorneys and the plaintiff's attorneys were present at the meeting when the deal was announced. Purdue is one of the major drugmakers that fuelled the opioid epidemic in the United States. As per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 400,000 people died between 1999 to 2017 due to the epidemic.
Consecutive Mesothelioma Verdicts By Seattle Juries
Two separate Seattle juries awarded back-to-back verdicts to mesothelioma victims in cases involving exposure to asbestos products.
On September 4, 2019, the Estate of one victim won a verdict of $425,000 against Alcoa in a premises liability claim arising out of the Alcoa aluminum plant in Wenatchee, Washington. The victim performed metalwork from the 1960s-1980s as an outside contractor at the Alcoa aluminum smelter in Wenatchee. During this period, he was exposed to asbestos and was never warned of the hazards or provided respiratory protection. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2017 and died several months later. Following a three-week trial before King County Superior Court Judge Keenan, Alcoa was held liable for maintaining an unsafe premise that caused the plaintiff's cancer.
On September 14, 2019, a couple was awarded $4.25 million against Lone Star Industries in a case involving exposure to asbestos products by King County jury. The husband worked at Lockheed Shipyard on Harbor Island as a marine electrician in the early 1970s. He was exposed to asbestos products at the shipyard and diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in early 2019 at the age of 80. Plaintiffs' attorney sued Lone Star and several other companies who manufactured or supplied asbestos products to Lockheed Shipyard. All the claims against other defendants were settled, and following a three-week trial against Lone Star, the jury awarded $1.5 million to the husband and $2.75 million to his wife.
Hernia Mesh Lawsuits: Federal Judge Declines Dismissal
Judge Peter G. Sheridan of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey declined to dismiss product liability and personal injury claims involving Ethicon Inc.'s hernia mesh.
According to a lawsuit filed, the plaintiff from Texas received a mesh implant in 2011, to repair his inguinal hernia. The implant was removed in January 2017, as he experienced chronic abdominal pain and multiple infections. The lawsuit was filed in December 2018 against Ethicon in the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey for negligence, strict product liability, breach of express and implied warranties, and violation of consumer protection laws.
Ethicon argued over the allegation and requested a dismissal stating that the lawsuit filed was too late. New Jersey imposes a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury and product liability claims, which begins running once a plaintiff knows or should have known the cause of his injuries. The plaintiff, however, maintained that the statute of limitations didn’t begin to run until his revision surgery in January 2017.
In an order published September 11, Judge Sheridan signified the defense could raise a motion only where it affirmatively appears on the face of the complaint that the action pleaded is barred by the statute of limitations.
All Ethicon hernia mesh lawsuits are consolidated under MDL No. 2327 (In Re: Ethicon Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation).
Former Ford Motor Mechanic Wins $8.4M In Asbestos Trial
A couple has been awarded a total of $8.4 million in an asbestos lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. by a St. Louis jury.
According to the court records, the husband was employed as a mechanic at Ford's Mercury and Lincoln automobile dealerships from the 1960s until the 1980s. During his employment, he was exposed to asbestos fibers while working with brakes, gaskets, clutches, and OEM replacement parts, which later led to pleural mesothelioma in his right lung. Following an eight-day trial, presided by Hon. Judge Christopher McGaugh, the Missouri Circuit Court for St. Louis City jury reached the verdict on Aug 22.
Initially, the husband was awarded $5,725,000 in actual damages and $2 million in punitive damages, and his wife was awarded $708,000 in actual damages, after finding that she sustained damage as a direct result of injury to her husband. In an order published on August 30, the verdict was reduced by $1,497,500 for set-offs. This resulted in $4,392,311.13 to the husband in actual damages and $2 million in punitive damages. The wife's award was reduced to $543,188.87.
Earlier, four plaintiffs who developed mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos from Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) cosmetic talc products
were awarded $37.3 million by a six-member New Jersey state court jury.
The settlement breakup in this fourth J&J cosmetic talc case that will go to trial in New Jersey is as follows, $7.25 million to the first couple, $9.45 million to the second couple, $14.7 million to a plaintiff, and $5.9 million to the third couple. In the coming Fall date for the second phase of the trial to determine punitive damages will be set.
Two mesothelioma-related trials are in progress in California state court in Los Angeles. Jury selection is underway in the state’s first cosmetic talc trial and ovarian cancer case since a trial last year in Missouri, which ended in a $4.7 billion verdict in Georgia state court in Atlanta.
A jury ruled the judgement in the company's favour when J&J stated that it relied on Georgia-Pacific to warn the end-users of its joint compound products. The summary judgement was announced in Delaware trial court rewarding the Union Carbide Corp.
The country's first asbestos lawsuit was filed by a woman in 1929 in Newark (NJ) Federal Court and 15 more individuals tried to get compensation in similar suits. The woman's lawsuit was disqualified in 1934, but many such lawsuits were filed later. Johns-Manville Corporation was targeted by these lawsuits, as it was one of the biggest companies then. Eventually, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1982.