Preview Newsletter
Ethicon 11/17
-
Law360's Weekly Verdict: Legal Lions & Lambs
Nov 17, 2017 | Law360
By Aebra Coe
...Another win for Johnson & Johnson this week landed Beck Redden LLP, Butler Snow LLP and Stolley Law PC on the legal lions list. A federal jury in Houston found in favor of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. in a trial over a woman's allegations that she was injured by a defective pelvic mesh device, finding there was no design defect. -
Sefton Council to debate use of controversial vaginal mesh implants
Nov 16, 2017 | South Port Visiter
By Jamie Lopez
Sefton Council will debate the use of controversial vaginal mesh at a public meeting tonight (Thursday, November 16). -
Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Steve Mostyn Dies
Nov 16, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device News Desk
It is with great sadness that Mesh Medical Device News Desk passes on the news of the death of plaintiffs’ mesh attorney Steve Mostyn.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
-
Law360's Weekly Verdict: Legal Lions & Lambs
Nov 17, 2017 | Law360
By Aebra Coe
Weil Gotshal heads up the legal lions list this week, snagging a precedential win at the Federal Circuit finding the U.S. Supreme Court's TC Heartland decision was a change in law, while Skadden and King & Spalding ended up on the lambs list after their client, Johnson & Johnson, was slammed with a $247 million verdict in a hip implant bellwether trial.
Legal Lions
Resolving a question that has sharply divided district courts, the Federal Circuit on Wednesday sided with arguments made by Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP attorneys and ruled the U.S. Supreme Court's decision restricting where patent suits can be filed was a change in the law — a ruling that could give more defendants like Weil Gotshal’s client Micron Technology Inc. a chance to argue their cases should be transferred. Micron is represented by Jared Bobrow, J. Jason Lang, Michele Gauger, Aaron Y. Huang and Megan H. Wantland of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial in the case of Sen. Bob Menendez and a Florida ophthalmologist after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous decision on any charges, with the panel divided over whether the two men engaged in a bribery scheme or were just friends. Menendez is represented by Abbe David Lowell, Jenny R. Kramer and Christopher D. Man of Norton Rose Fulbright, Raymond M. Brown of Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP, and Stephen M. Ryan of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
In a decision implicating hundreds of cases pending in a mass tort program in Philadelphia, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Monday that two boys who allegedly grew enlarged breasts after taking the Johnson & Johnson antipsychotic Risperdal had waited too long to sue over their injuries. The win for J&J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. was secured by a team of lawyers at Dechert LLP and Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Janssen is represented by Robert Heim and Christopher Boisvert of Dechert LLP and Kenneth Murphy of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.
Another win for Johnson & Johnson this week landed Beck Redden LLP, Butler Snow LLP and Stolley Law PC on the legal lions list. A federal jury in Houston found in favor of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. in a trial over a woman's allegations that she was injured by a defective pelvic mesh device, finding there was no design defect. Ethicon is represented by Kathleen Gallagher and W. Curt Webb of Beck Redden LLP, Chad R. Hutchinson of Butler Snow LLP and Scott P. Stolley of Stolley Law PC.
A team of government attorneys came away with a win Monday when the Ninth Circuit nixed much of a lower court's injunction on the Trump administration's third travel ban, reinstating limitations on nationals of six countries but carving out an exception for people with family living in the U.S. or with an offer from a university or employer. The federal government is represented by H. Thomas Byron III, Hashim Mooppan,Anne Murphy, Brad Rosenberg, Lowell Sturgill Jr., Sharon Swingle and Jeffrey Wall of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Cozen O'Connor ran with the legal lions this week, winning a Federal Circuit decision upholding a lower court ruling that found Apotex Inc. did not infringe a patent covering Amgen Inc.'s blockbuster drug Neulasta, while clarifying the amount of weight courts should put on statements made in the prelitigation process by companies making biosimilars. Apotex is represented by Barry P. Golob, William Blake Coblentz, Aaron S. Lukas and Kerry Brendan McTigue of Cozen O'Connor.
Legal Lambs
A Texas federal jury on Thursday hit Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. unit with a combined $247 million verdict in a bellwether trial over DePuy's Pinnacle line of metal-on-metal hip implants, delivering the third consecutive nine-figure verdict in the multidistrict litigation. The decision landed Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and King & Spalding LLP attorneys on this week's legal lambs list. The defendants are represented by John H. Beisner, Stephen J. Harburg and Jessica D. Miller of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Steven W. Quattlebaum of Quattlebaum Grooms & Tull PLLC and Tracie J. Renfroe of King & Spalding LLP.
A jury in the Eastern District of Texas on Monday cleared Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co. of infringing an Ethernet patent owned by Network-1 Technologies Inc., which has generated over $115 million in licensing revenue from the patent and licenses it to dozens of companies. Network-1, which is represented by Dovel & Luner LLP and Ward Smith & Hill PLLC, said that the verdict — should it hold up — could relieve some of the licensees of their obligation to continue paying royalties. Network-1 is represented by Christin Cho and Gregory S. Dovel of Dovel & Luner LLP and T. John Ward Jr., Claire Henry and Andrea Fair of Ward Smith & Hill PLLC.
A Nevada federal judge on Friday disqualified three Troutman Sanders LLP attorneys representing a doctor in a False Claims Act suit against rehabilitation care provider HealthSouth Corp., ruling that the firm had a conflict of interest because two of its attorneys in another state had agreed to lobby on behalf of the provider. HealthSouth had moved to disqualify Troutman and its attorneys in August, saying that since the suit by its former employee, Dr. Joshua Luke, had been filed, the company had hired two Troutman attorneys based in Georgia, Peter Robinson and Robb Willis, to lobby on HealthSouth's behalf.
In a loss for attorneys at WilmerHale and Fish & Richardson PC, the Federal Circuit ruled Monday that Promega Corp. can't recover any damages in a patent suit against Life Technologies Corp. over genetic testing kits after the U.S. Supreme Court put limits on overseas infringement, saying the possibility for damages had been foreclosed by Promega's "all-or-nothing" damages strategy. Promega is represented by Seth P. Waxman, Kevin Lamb and Thomas Saunders of WilmerHale, Mark C. Fleming, Eric Fletcher, Janine Marie Lopez and Proshanto Mukherji of Fish & Richardson PC and Susan R. Podolsky of the Law Offices of Susan R. Podolsky.
This week's final legal lamb is Reed Smith LLP. On Tuesday, a New York state appeals court found that two insurers need not cover a fire at a famous resort-turned-condominium represented by the law firm after it was found that the complex's automatic sprinkler system had not been as extensive or as well-maintained as represented. Grandview Palace Condominiums Association is represented by John Berringer and Brian Sutherland of Reed Smith LLP.https://www.law360.com/articles/986285/law360-s-weekly-verdict-legal-lions-lambs
-
Sefton Council to debate use of controversial vaginal mesh implants
Nov 16, 2017 | South Port Visiter
By Jamie Lopez
Sefton Council will debate the use of controversial vaginal mesh at a public meeting tonight (Thursday, November 16).
The implants are a form of treatment for women who suffer incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse after having children, with at least 92,000 patients given them in the past decade.
But many women have blamed the implants for serious pain or discomfort while walking or having sex, with a Scottish inquiry concluding last year they should not be routinely offered to women for pelvic prolapse.
Thousands of people have called for a ban on the mesh, with many patients blaming it for serious pain and other severe health problems.
However. an NHS England review earlier this year said that mesh remained a safe, effective option for incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, and leading manufacturer Johnson & Johnson said most research, clinicians and patients backed their use.
The issue will be raised at tonight’s full council meeting at Southport Town Hall, with Cllr June Burn calling for the council to speak out on the issue.
Cllr Burn, who represents Maghull, has filed a motion calling for the council to request a two-year suspension on using the implants to allow a full investigation to be carried out.
The motion states:”Vaginal mesh is used for women who may have suffered incontinence or prolapse after childbirth or the menopause. It is a net like product which supports the affected organs and is supposedly there for life.
“Patients are told that it’s a simple quick procedure which will take about 20 minutes and they will be able to leave hospital later in the day. However, cases of severe complications after the operation are now emerging as women start to talk more openly about this usually taboo subject.
“Some women have spoken about how quickly their symptoms began and others have been affected years later. There are women who have walked into an operating theatre perfectly fit and healthy and come out as physical wrecks, some needing a wheelchair or sticks to walk; others facing a lifetime of pain and the prospect of losing their jobs/homes and others have lost their marriages due to chronic pain while having sex.
“Most women aren’t informed of these risks and even when they experience them they’re not taken seriously. Women’s health in general is not taken seriously even now in the 21st Century.
http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/news/southport-west-lancs/sefton-council-debate-use-controversial-13910346
-
Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Steve Mostyn Dies
Nov 16, 2017 | Mesh Medical Device News Desk
It is with great sadness that Mesh Medical Device News Desk passes on the news of the death of plaintiffs’ mesh attorney Steve Mostyn.
His wife, Amber, has issued a statement that the death was the result of a sudden onset of mental health issues. She encourages anyone fighting mental health problems to contact the suicide hotlines.
“If you or a loved one are thinking about suicide, or experiencing a health crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline right now.” The lifeline’s number is 1-800-273-8255.”
Mostyn, 46, leaves behind his law partner and wife, Amber Mostyn, and two children ages 10 and 16. Steve was a devoted father who never missed their sporting activities, reports CBS News.
His Houston-based law firm is a leading personal injury firm that has jumped into the pelvic mesh debacle, particularly leading the way in racketeering claims against mesh maker, Boston Scientific.
Steve and Amber had filed a racketeering class action lawsuit (here) against Boston Scientific on behalf of Teresa Stevens of West Virginia.
Based on documents obtained in discovery from Boston Scientific, they show executives knew and intentionally smuggled into the U.S. allegedly substandard polypropylene resin from a known Chinese counterfeiter when its U.S. supplier said it would cease providing the raw materials.
Amber Mostyn wrote to the FDA in April 2016, (here) , looking for federal help to restrain Boston Scientific (BSC) from selling mesh implants made from the allegedly counterfeit Chinese mesh.
“FDA’s proposal to allow BSC to test its own product for equivalency is flawed at its core and stands in stark contrast to statements by the FDA, statues enacted by Congress, and the public policies behind them. The FDA’s initial inquiry should be whether the raw material being used by BSC is counterfeit in violation of the Trademark Counterfeiting Act. If it is, the product should be recalled immediately.”
The FDA instead turned the question of substandard mesh made from counterfeit materials over to BSC to investigate itself. The Mostyn law firm produced a video on the issue here.
Mostyn also appeared on 60 Minutes fighting for people who lost their homes after Hurricane Sandy, particularly fighting the insurance companies that didn’t want to pay for the damages. See the script here. The video requires you log into CBS 60 Minutes.
He was known to be a fierce fighter in court and to fund political candidates who oppose the movement called “tort reform” that curtails an individuals right to a courtroom to resolve grievances.
Big Asbestos, Pharma and Tobacco are behind the tort reform movement, and receive backing through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Read more about that on PR Watch here.
Last year, your editor contributed stories on the mesh debacle for the Mostyn Perspectiveswebsite. Read a MND story on the Chinese mesh issue on Mostyn Perspectives here.
While I never met the Mostyns, Scottish reporter Marion Scott did when the couple flew to Scotland to testify to the government about the mesh issue.
Marion Scott, Reporter of the Year 2015
Tonight she says, “Totally distraught to hear this. Steve flew to Scotland with his lovely wife and daughter because he wanted to raise awareness of the mesh scandal. He was an incredible advocate and fighter. He lit up the place. Lovely man. So sorry for Amber and the kids.” While many personal injury law firms talk the talk, the Mostyns truly helped many of you behind the scenes putting their efforts into digging up the long buried evidence that would be needed to support mesh survivors during their long journey.Rest in Peace Steve and prayers to the Mostyn family.
https://www.meshmedicaldevicenewsdesk.com/plaintiffs-lawyer-steve-mostyn-dies/
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
Add recipients
Suggested