U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti. Courtesy photoMDL Panel Sends Allergan Breast Implant Cases to Martinotti
The multidistrict litigation assignment is the second for U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti of the District of New Jersey.
December 18, 2019 at 03:41 PM
3 minute read
U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti of the District of New Jersey got his second multidistrict litigation assignment Wednesday, after a federal judicial panel sent about 30 lawsuits brought over Allergan Inc.'s breast implant recall to his New Jersey courtroom.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered the cases transferred to Martinotti, a move supported by Allergan, whose U.S. headquarters is in Madison, New Jersey.
"Allergan USA Inc. has its headquarters and principal place of business in this district, and represented at oral argument that significant common evidence, including witnesses, will be located there," wrote MDL Panel chairwoman Karen Caldwell, a judge on the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The lawsuits allege that Allergan, based in Dublin, knew that its Biocell textured breast implants, in tens of thousands of women, increased the chances of getting anaplastic large cell lymphoma but failed to warn about those risks. Allergan, which recalled its implants July 24, brought in Lori McGroder of Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City, Missouri, who argued in a Nov. 1 filing that New Jersey was home to Allergan's U.S. headquarters and recommended Martinotti, specifically.
McGroder called the recall a "precautionary measure" addressing the "low risk" of contracting anaplastic large cell lymphoma. She said that the plaintiffs sought costs associated with the removal and medical monitoring of the implants, despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in requesting the recall, making no such recommendation for asymptomatic patients.
Plaintiffs lawyers had pitched venues including the Central District of California, the Middle District of Tennessee, the Southern District of New York, the Southern District of Florida and the District of Kansas.
Martinotti got his first MDL assignment soon after his 2016 appointment to the federal bench, overseeing more than 1,000 lawsuits brought over diabetes drug Invokana. Johnson & Johnson agreed to settle a large chunk of those cases last year.
Lawyers pitching venues to the MDL panel have frequently floated Martinotti's name, most recently in the litigation against electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs. The MDL panel instead sent the cases to U.S. District Judge William Orrick of the Northern District of California near Juul's headquarters in San Francisco.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Social Media Policy for Judges Provides Guidance in a Changing World
3 minute read
Bank of America's Cash Sweep Program Attracts New Legal Fire in Class Action
3 minute read
'Something Really Bad Happened': J&J's Talc Bankruptcy Vote Under Attack
7 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
