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Mass Torts
Multiple counts in lawsuit against American Regent, other pharmaceutical makers are dismissed
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania has granted parts of a dismissal motion filed by three of six defendants in a lawsuit seeking damages for alleged harmful side effects from a medication treating iron deficiency.
Mass Torts
Alabama woman discontinues Philadelphia lawsuit over Essure birth control device
PHILADELPHIA – The case of an Alabama plaintiff who claimed to be injured after using the Essure birth control device, one of 16 filed against Bayer Pharmaceuticals in a Philadelphia court from women similarly-situated, was recently abandoned.
Mass Torts
Defendant improperly attached to J&J pelvic mesh lawsuit for plaintiff's benefit, judge rules
PHILADELPHIA – A federal court has decided that a woman suing Ethicon over allegations of a defective pelvic mesh device had improperly joined an extra defendant to the case and denied her motion to remand the case back to a state court.
Mass Torts
Teachers union takes to court to fight Philadelphia School District over asbestos in classrooms
PHILADELPHIA – The union representing Philadelphia’s public school teachers has filed a lawsuit against the city’s school district, alleging its improper handling of asbestos contamination in its school buildings has put 125,000 students and 13,000 staff members at risk for serious health issues
Mass Torts
Judge in landmark $8 billion Risperdal case cuts punitive damages award down to $6.8 million
PHILADELPHIA – After a Philadelphia jury rendered a staggering $8 billion punitive damages verdict at the end of a recent trial surrounding anti-psychotic drug Risperdal in October, the judge who presided over the trial reduced the verdict to $6.8 million on Friday.
Mass Torts
Case of woman who sued vaping manufacturer JUUL for her neurological injuries is transferred to California federal court
SAN FRANCISCO – A lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania woman which took aim at the manufacturer, marketer and distributor of JUUL e-cigarettes over allegations they failed to warn of the products’ dangers, will now be heard in a California federal court.
Mass Torts
Florida federal judge dismisses 77 plaintiffs from Abilify action that started in Philadelphia
PENSACOLA, Fla. – A federal judge recently dismissed 77 cases from plaintiffs who sued both Bristol Myers-Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical in connection with prescription medication Abilify this past October – after multiple plaintiffs were already dismissed from the suit earlier last year for defying court orders and failing to provide basic information about their claims.
Mass Torts
Pennsylvania judge sends Michigan woman's pelvic mesh case out of state
PHILADELPHIA – A Michigan woman's lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and other defendants over a 2011 pelvic mesh implant Gynecare TVT-Obturator (TVT-O), originally filed in Pennsylvania, now is in federal court in New Jersey.
Mass Torts
After $8 billion verdict, J&J wins two Risperdal cases in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – In stark contrast to the $8 billion punitive damages verdict reached this past fall, two Risperdal cases were dismissed through successful motions for summary judgment from Johnson & Johnson in Philadelphia courtrooms.
Mass Torts
Defendants waiting to see how Superior Court ruling that allowed incomplete testimony affects Pa. asbestos cases
HARRISBURG – In a seemingly unprecedented move, a recent decision from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania allowed deposition testimony and an affidavit from an “unavailable witness" who had not been vetted by all defendants before he passed.
Mass Torts
Out-of-state businesses afraid of Philadelphia's court should pay attention to coming Superior Court decision
HARRISBURG – Plaintiffs lawyers and the business community await a ruling from an en banc panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, which is deciding whether the state can require companies who wish to do business here to consent to also being sued here.
Mass Torts
Philadelphia now the top-ranked 'Judicial Hellhole'; Massive verdicts, like $8B Risperdal case, cited
WASHINGTON – In an annual report of “Judicial Hellholes” released today by the American Tort Reform Association, Philadelphia has claimed the No. 1 ranking – in part due to a historic $8 billion punitive damages verdict rendered this year in litigation connected to Johnson & Johnson’s anti-psychotic drug Risperdal.
Mass Torts
More bad news from Pa. court for J&J as it fights Risperdal lawsuits
PHILADELPHIA – The Superior Court of Pennsylvania has both upheld a $70 million compensatory damages award given to a Tennessee plaintiff in a case tied to the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, and set the stage for another fight on punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson – which recently yielded a historic $8 billion verdict in a Philadelphia courtroom, in another action.
Mass Torts
Pa. Supreme Court reinstates thousands of Risperdal cases after J&J argued they were filed too late
HARRISBURG – According to a pair of majority rulings from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a factual analysis must be undertaken in each individual case involving Johnson & Johnson anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, before a jury can decide when the statute of limitations begins to toll for bringing a claim.
Mass Torts
Woman's suit against Johnson & Johnson tossed after she failed to identify mesh that allegedly injured her
PITTSBURGH – A woman who alleged she was injured by a medical mesh product from Johnson & Johnson failed to identify what the product actually was, leading to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania granting summary judgment for the defendants.
Mass Torts
Somewhere, Tim Robbins is laughing at Philadelphia
"That’s like saying, ‘I want gajillion bajillion dollars!’”
Mass Torts
Superior Court revives Mississippi woman's Philadelphia lawsuit
A Mississippi woman's product liability case against a Bethlehem-based medical device maker is on its way back to a Philadelphia court after a state intermediate appellate court ruled it should not have been dismissed.
Mass Torts
Judge accused of high-fiving jurors after $8B Risperdal verdict refuses to step down from trial
PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia judge has struck down an attempt to recuse him from future proceedings surrounding a staggering $8 billion punitive damages verdict at the end of a recent trial surrounding anti-psychotic drug Risperdal.
Mass Torts
Philly juries continue propensity for large punitive verdicts with $30M in IVC case
PHILADELPHIA – A woman who sustained injuries from a defective device intended to prevent blood clots to vital organs was awarded more than $33 million in damages by a jury in Philadelphia on Monday.
Mass Torts
Judge in $8 billion Risperdal trial high-fived the jury, Johnson & Johnson says
PHILADELPHIA – Johnson & Johnson, which was recently hit with a staggering $8 billion punitive damages verdict at the end of a recent trial surrounding anti-psychotic drug Risperdal in Philadelphia, has filed motions to set it aside and call for a retrial – in addition to calling for the presiding judge to recuse himself from the case moving forward, alleging improper conduct like high-fives and pictures with jurors.