A pelvic mesh manufacturer moved to halt a bellwether trial next month after an online news article reported that a federal judge implied the company should settle nearly 10,000 lawsuits against it.

C.R. Bard Inc. is one of seven manufacturers facing lawsuits alleging that the devices, which are implanted in women to treat pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence, have caused pain and required subsequent surgeries to remove them. Bard is set to go to trial on Feb. 18 against an Ohio woman who had its Avaulta device implanted in 2007.

On Dec. 24, Bard filed a motion to continue the trial and suspend all future trials based on statements made by U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, who is managing about 60,000 lawsuits filed across the country over pelvic mesh litigation. Goodwin said during a Dec. 9 hearing that Bard faced potentially “billions of dollars” in liability and should consider settling its cases, according to the motion. Such statements, Bard attorney Lori Cohen wrote, were “distorted” by a Bloomberg.com news story and financial analysts.