Ethicon Media Monitoring 11/09/16

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

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1. AMS Sanctioned Over Subpoenas In Pelvic Mesh MDL

   Nov 8, 2016 | Law 360

   By Brandon Lowrey
   
   
   A West Virginia federal magistrate judge on Tuesday hit Endo International plc unit American Medical Systems Inc. with sanctions in two cases within multidistrict litigation alleging the medical device company sold defective pelvic mesh implants, saying AMS issued subpoenas that violated the court's protective order.

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

Online Sources

1. AMS Sanctioned Over Subpoenas In Pelvic Mesh MDL

   Nov 8, 2016 | Law 360

   By Brandon Lowrey

   Law360, Los Angeles (November 8, 2016, 8:32 PM EST) -- A West Virginia federal magistrate judge on Tuesday hit Endo International plc unit American Medical Systems Inc. with sanctions in two cases within multidistrict litigation alleging the medical device company sold defective pelvic mesh implants, saying AMS issued subpoenas that violated the court's protective order.
   
   U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl A. Eifert quashed the subpoenas and ordered AMS to pay the costs involved in disputing them in her order. The protective orders limited the deposition of witness Chelly Exum, the chief financial officer for gynecologist Dr. Christopher Walker.
   
   AMS was limited to a two-hour deposition that covered a specific range of topics. The company used one hour and 38 minutes, then later issued another subpoena seeking to depose Exum again and seeking information beyond the scope of the protective order, according to the court.
   
   "Indeed, the purpose of the protective order was to allow one, limited deposition of Ms. Exum; it was not a springboard for multiple depositions and expanding areas of inquiry," the judge wrote.
   
   The order applied to two cases in multidistrict litigation over AMS' Apogee and Perigee systems as well as the MiniArc Sling and the IntePro Y Sling, among other products. Plaintiffs allege that the vaginal mesh devices at issue are defective and have caused chronic pain, incontinence and other injuries.
   
   In July, Endo settled claims in about 135 of the suits.
   
   Seven separate MDLs comprising some 70,000 cases are pending in West Virginia over alleged pelvic mesh implant injuries. Ethicon is facing about 23,000 suits as part of its MDL, according to court records.
   
   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently reclassified pelvic mesh devices like those at issue in the suits as high-risk devices that must undergo the agency's most stringent safety evaluation before hitting the market.
   
   Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Tuesday.
   
   Elliott is represented by J. Mark Kell of Kell Lampkin and Rhett A. McSweeney of McSweeney Langevin. Greenier is represented by David Michael Langevin and Rhett A. McSweeney of McSweeney Langevin.
   
   AMS is represented by Barbara R. Binis, Michael T. Scott and Rachel B. Weil of Reed Smith LLP, and Erik W. Legg and Michael J. Farrell of Farrell White & Legg.
   
   The cases are Teri Elliott v. American Medical Systems Inc., case number 2:14-cv-11870, and Pauline Greenier v. American Medical Systems Inc., case number 2:14-cv-28142, both in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
   
   The MDL is In re: American Medical Systems Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, case number 2:12-md-02325, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
   
   --Editing by Kelly Duncan.

   http://www.law360.com/articles/860910/ams-sanctioned-over-subpoenas-in-pelvic-mesh-mdl
   

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