Multidistrict Litigation

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This post is not from the Reed Smith, Dechert, or Holland & Knight side of the blog.

We’re pretty sure no one teaches about MDL census registries in law school. They’re a relatively new creation, and we previously blogged about them here. Essentially, registries create a mechanism where plaintiffs’ counsel can park potential claims without paying a filing fee while records are collected to determine if the claimant can establish Rule 11 basics like product use and injury.  Records are typically collected by a vendor—for which the MDL defendants pay half the costs. The benefit defendants receive is a commitment that, if the claim is ultimately filed, it has to be filed in the MDL or other federal court.Continue Reading More from the Zantac MDL – Census Registries and Enforcement of Forum Selection Certifications

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We have frequently reported on plaintiffs’ efforts to salvage untimely claims in the Taxotere MDL. See, for example, here, here, and here. As we explained here, the basic problem for many plaintiffs—who claim that the chemotherapy drug Taxotere caused them permanent hair loss—is how the MDL master complaint defines the plaintiffs’

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Last week we alluded to the utility of bench-bar conferences.  As if to prove that point, we spent Thursday and Friday at a conference on Multidistrict Litigations.  The conference was focused on the sources of, and possible solutions to, “protracted” MDL proceedings.  John Rabiej put the conference together, and that pretty much guarantees that the

Photo of Lisa Baird

Every once in a while, we find ourselves on a federal government corner of the internet, and we usually are surprised to discover (or are reminded) that these webpages often have materials that are worth knowing about, even downright useful, for our type of practice. 

These sites are not always easy to navigate, however, so

Photo of Susanna Moldoveanu

We posted last year about plaintiffs who were dismissed from the Taxotere MDL for failure to serve defendants. To put it simply, the Federal Rules still apply in an MDL. 153 plaintiffs didn’t comply with the Rules, and their cases were dismissed. Not knowing when to walk away, as Kenny Rogers instructs, a number of these plaintiffs filed for reconsideration. The MDL Court rightly shut them down.Continue Reading No Second Chance at Service for Taxotere Plaintiffs

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Coblin v. Depuy Orthopaedics, Inc., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62114 (E.D. Kentucky April 4, 2024) is the ultimate dodged bullet.  It is part of a multidistrict litigation.  That’s bad enough. Then it gets worse.  It’s not just any MDL, it’s the hip implant MDL. Then it gets even worse. This Coblin decision involves a

Photo of Stephen McConnell

In early Summer we will be attending yet another bench and bar conference on Multidistrict Litigations.  The organizer of the conference recently asked us to switch from a panel focusing on MDL problems to a panel discussing potential solutions.  Of course, we agreed, because we’re all about being cooperative and constructive. Right?  Not really. Grousing

Photo of Susanna Moldoveanu

The orders denying untimely, post-remand attempts to amend complaints in the Taxotere litigation are piling up, and it doesn’t get old.  We recently reported on one such denial in the Northern District of California.  In recent weeks, district courts in New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee (among others) have joined in.  Today we report on three of those decisions.Continue Reading More Taxotere Remand Courts Deny Untimely Amendments

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McMillian v. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44783 (March 13, 2024), is another example where a court shot down a belated, post-remand attempt by a Taxotere plaintiff to change the allegations of her complaint. You might think that we will mimic some of our earlier posts about remand courts fixing a mess