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Two lawyers involved in the Xarelto litigation were punished on Tuesday for taking courtroom photographs that were later used on social media, one of which included the hashtag #killinnazis.

Ruling from the bench before a full courtroom Tuesday morning, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Erdos revoked the pro hac vice admission of Ned McWilliams, of Pensacola, Florida-based Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty Proctor. Erdos also ordered Emily Jeffcott of New Orleans-based The Lambert Firm to pay $2,500 and perform 25 hours of community service in Philadelphia.

The rulings stem from photographs the two posted of the courtroom while the latest Xarelto trial was underway. That trial ended with a $27.8 million verdict for the plaintiff.

McWilliams, who had been second chair at trial, had taken a photograph of an empty courtroom and posted it to Instagram using the hashtag #killinnazis. Jeffcott had taken a photograph of the courtroom with Erdos on the bench, which she also posted to Instagram. Her post did not use the #killinnazis hashtag, but it was subsequently used in promotional materials for her firm, and published in Business Wire and Yahoo Finance.

Both attorneys apologized to Erdos during a hearing Tuesday regarding the posts, but in making his ruling Erdos said the conduct went against court rules and the hashtag was “well beneath the dignity of the legal profession.”

Jeffcott has been trial counsel in all four Xarelto cases that have gone to trial. As trial counsel in the latest case, McWilliams helped the plaintiffs suing over Xarelto attain their first win after defendants scored three consecutive defense verdicts in federal court. McWilliams losing his pro hac vice admission jeopardizes his ability to continue working in the Xarelto mass tort in Philadelphia.

Both McWilliams and Jeffcott declined to comment following the ruling. A spokesman for Bayer did not return a message seeking comment Tuesday morning.

As part of the proceedings Tuesday morning, Erdos also decided to allow the defendants, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer, to bring into the official appellate record evidence of social media posts using the #killinnazis hashtag. However, he also told attorneys during the hearing that he did not think the posts would affect the post-trial motions seeking to reverse last month's verdict.

“I don't see how it's going to influence my decision on the motion for a new trial,” Erdos said, stressing that the jury never saw the hashtag and that the ruling will likely focus solely on the evidence that had been before the jury. “But if I'm wrong about that, I want the Superior Court to have it as part of the record.”

The dust-up over the social media posts began about a week after the multimillion-dollar verdict was delivered on Dec. 5. The defendants referenced the posts in a post-trial motion and said members of the plaintiffs' counsel made nine social media posts using the hashtag #killinnazis.

Bayer, which developed Xarelto, is based in Germany, and defendants are pointing to the social media posts as indicating that the plaintiffs counsel intended to create a link in the minds of the jurors between German-based Bayer and Nazi Germany.

The plaintiffs, however, countered that the posts were taken out of context, and there was no indication jurors saw the posts.

In an emailed statement Levin Sedran & Berman attorney Michael Weinkowitz, who is co-lead liaison counsel for the plaintiffs, said plaintiffs counsel did not attempt to raise any nationality issue during trial.

“The jury found by clear and convincing evidence that the defendants engaged in willful and wanton conduct by not warning about Xarelto's serious risk despite mounting evidence that thousands of people are being harmed, including [plaintiff Lynn] Hartman,” he said. “There was absolutely no attempt by any lawyer associated with Mrs. Hartman to raise any sentiment about nationality at trial.”