Ethicon Media Monitoring 04/26/2016

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1. C.R. Bard settles clutch of pelvic mesh lawsuits

   Apr 27, 2016 | MassDevice

   By Brad Perriello
   
   
   A West Virginia federal judge yesterday dismissed nearly 150 product liability lawsuits brought against C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) over its pelvic mesh products, after an appeals court earlier this year upheld a $2 million verdict against the company in another suit.
2. Federal judge tosses out 150 vaginal mesh cases against Bard

   Apr 27, 2016 | FierceMedicalDevices

   By Emily Wasserman
   
   
   A federal judge overseeing some lawsuits against C.R. Bard ($BCR) over its vaginal mesh products dismissed about 150 cases earlier this week. The decision marks a brighter point in the company's legal saga with the devices.

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

Online Sources

1. C.R. Bard settles clutch of pelvic mesh lawsuits

   Apr 27, 2016 | MassDevice

   By Brad Perriello

   A West Virginia federal judge yesterday dismissed nearly 150 product liability lawsuits brought against C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) over its pelvic mesh products, after an appeals court earlier this year upheld a $2 million verdict against the company in another suit.

   Judge Joseph Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia, who’s overseeing the multi-district litigation involving thousands of lawsuits filed against Bard and other mesh makers, dismissed 149 of suits yesterday, according to court documents. The devices are designed to treat female urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) subsidiary Covidien, which supplied the mesh to Bard, was also included in the dismissals.

   Goodwin dismissed the cases with prejudice, meaning they cannot be appealed, writing that “all claims have been compromised and settled,” according to the documents. Terms of the settlements were not disclosed; Medtronic subsidiary Covidien, which supplied the mesh to Bard, was also included in the dismissals.

   In January, a federal appeals court upheld a $2 million loss for Bard in a suit brought over its Avaulta pelvic mesh. A jury awarded plaintiff Donna Cisson $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.75 million in punitive damages back in August 2013; Bard, which recalled the Avaulta product in 2012, appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The company argued that Goodwin was wrong to exclude evidence of the 510(k) clearance Bard won from the FDA for the mesh and wrong to allow the admission of a Material Safety Data Sheet for the polypropylene resin used to make the Avaulta mesh.

   Bard also contended that Goodwin’s jury instructions were improper and that the punitive damages award was excessive. Cisson argued that Georgia’s split-recovery statute, awarding 75% of the punitive damages award to the state, violates the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

   The 4th Circuit appeals court upheld Goodwin on all counts, ruling that the lower court was right not to allow Bard to introduce the 510(k) as evidence and denying Cisson’s challenge to Georgia’s split-recovery statute.

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2. Federal judge tosses out 150 vaginal mesh cases against Bard

   Apr 27, 2016 | FierceMedicalDevices

   By Emily Wasserman

   A federal judge overseeing some lawsuits against C.R. Bard ($BCR) over its vaginal mesh products dismissed about 150 cases earlier this week. The decision marks a brighter point in the company's legal saga with the devices.

   Judge Joseph Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia tossed out 149 suits, saying that "all claims have been compromised and settled," according to court documents seen by Law360. Settlement terms were not disclosed, but the agreements also let Medtronic ($MDT) subsidiary Covidien off the hook. The company supplied the mesh to Bard for its products.

   Goodwin's decision can't be appealed, which is good news for Bard. Earlier this year, the same court upheld a $2 million decision against Bard in a case over its Avaulta pelvic mesh. A West Virginia jury awarded plaintiff Donna Cisson $1.75 million in punitive damages and $250,000 in compensatory damages in 2013, prompting Bard to appeal the decision.

   Bard argued that Goodwin, the judge in the case, excluded crucial evidence about its device's 510(k) clearance. Goodwin also gave the jury improper directions and wrongly allowed evidence about a Material Safety Data Sheet for the resin used to make the mesh, the company said.

   But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit didn't see things quite the same way. The court upheld Goodwin on all counts and said that the lower court was right to stop Bard from presenting information about the device's regulatory clearance as evidence.

   Meanwhile, Bard has been trying to settle with some plaintiffs rather than battle it out in court. Last year, the company said it would fork over more than $200 million to settle 3,000 cases by women who were allegedly injured from its vaginal mesh.

   That settlement resolves about one-fifth of outstanding lawsuits over the company's devices. But Bard still faces more than 21,000 product liability suits for the devices.

   In November, the company said it would shell out $3.6 million in damages in the first case that went to trial over one of its transvaginal mesh implants. A court had reduced the award from $5.5 million after finding that the doctor who implanted Bard's Avaulta mesh device was also at fault.

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