Attorneys have characterized the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California as game-changing for mass tort programs in state court, but lawyers for more than 90 plaintiffs suing Johnson & Johnson over its pelvic mesh products have said in court papers the ruling should not affect the mass tort program pending in Philadelphia.

Lead attorneys in the mass tort program filed their response Sept. 7 to J&J's recent bid to get most cases pending against it in Pennsylvania removed from Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

The response, filed by Kline & Specter attorney Charles “Chip” Becker, said that, although the Bristol-Myers decision is significant as it is the Supreme Court's first time dealing with specific jurisdiction for mass torts, it does not change the law, or alter the defendant's underlying conduct in Pennsylvania.