fosamax june 24

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1. Remaining Fosamax Cases Dismissed But Not Dead

   Jun 23, 2015 | New Jersey Law Journal

   By Charles Toutant
   
   
   A federal judge in Trenton has dismissed the last remaining 570 cases in multidistrict litigation over Merck's osteoporosis drug Fosamax, but the cases could be reinstated if plaintiffs win an appeal currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson of the District of New Jersey...

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Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel

1. Remaining Fosamax Cases Dismissed But Not Dead

   Jun 23, 2015 | New Jersey Law Journal

   By Charles Toutant

   A federal judge in Trenton has dismissed the last remaining 570 cases in multidistrict litigation over Merck's osteoporosis drug Fosamax, but the cases could be reinstated if plaintiffs win an appeal currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

   U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson of the District of New Jersey dismissed the remaining cases after finding they were based on claims that a pre-2011 warning label on the drug failed to sufficiently warn users that the drug could cause femur fractures.

   The remaining cases were dismissed on a finding that product liability claims brought under state law for failure to warn based on pre-2011 labels were preempted because clear evidence existed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would not have approved a stronger warning. The June 22 ruling was based on the same rationale as a March 26 ruling dismissing roughly 650 other cases. The March ruling, in turn, was based on the first trial of a Fosamax case in federal court, in 2013, in which a jury entered a defense verdict in the suit by Bernadette Glynn.

   A second bellwether Fosamax trial, based on the claims of Barbara Gaynor, was also decided in Merck's favor in June 2014. That case focused on the 2011 Fosamax label, whose warning about side effects was found to be adequate.

   Dismissals of the Gaynor and Glynn cases are on appeal before the Third Circuit.

   After the Gaynor ruling, U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano issued an order to show cause in November 2014, seeking the identity of any remaining plaintiffs who claimed the post-2011 label was inadequate and was a proximate cause of their injuries. No plaintiffs responded, prompting a determination by Wolfson that all remaining claims were based on the pre-2011 label. Wolfson was assigned to the case in March following Pisano's retirement.

   "Because the adequacy of the pre-2011 Fosamax label is the issue currently being decided by the Third Circuit, the decision on appeal will determine whether the claims of the remaining plaintiffs in this litigation remain viable or not," Wolfson said.

   Wolfson dismissed the 570 cases without prejudice, and noted that if the Third Circuit affirms the ruling on preemption, the court would enter an order dismissing the remaining cases with prejudice. If the Third Circuit grants the appeal and reverses the preemption ruling, however, the court will enter an order reinstating the 570 cases consistent with the appellate court's decision, she said.

   Another 3,200 Fosamax bone injury cases were pending before Judge Jessica Mayer in Middlesex County Superior Court as of June 20. In addition, about 500 Fosamax cases were filed in a state court in California....

   For full story:

   http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202730292810/Remaining-Fosamax-Cases-Dismissed-But-Not-Dead?slreturn=20150524031108
   

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