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Does Off-Label Promotion Settlement Signal Change in FDA Policy?

Litigation
Reuters |

Judge: VW has some difficult decisions to make “in the very near future.”

A federal judge turned up the heat on Volkswagen AG, setting a March deadline for the German automaker to state whether it has found an emissions fix for 600,000 diesel vehicles that is acceptable to U.S. regulators.


U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said he wants a definitive answer on the status of a fix by March 24.


The U.S. Justice Department last month sued Europe's biggest automaker for up to $46 billion for violating U.S. environmental laws. VW and its Audi and Porsche brands continue to be barred from selling any new 2016 diesel models in the United States. VW also faces more than 500 lawsuits from U.S. owners.

Litigation
National Law Journal |
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Common Benefit Dispute Emerges in Durom Cup Settlement

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. has agreed to settle most of its Durom Cup hip implant litigation, but the deal might exclude dozens of cases brought by a lead plaintiffs attorney who is fighting to pay for the rising costs of the multidistrict litigation.


Zimmer agreed to resolve “nearly the entirety of the litigation,” which includes about 400 lawsuits coordinated in federal court in New Jersey alleging that its Durom Cup loosens, causing pain and requiring additional surgeries. Rick Meadow of The Lanier Law Firm in Houston, one of the plaintiffs firms that negotiated the settlement, said the deal could include about 300 unfiled claims and lawsuits filed in state courts, where trials have taken place in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Litigation
Legal Newsline |

Fantasy Sports Class Actions Consolidated

Nearly 80 class actions filed against the nation’s two largest operators of online daily fantasy sports contests will be consolidated in a Massachusetts federal court.


The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a transfer order Feb. 4.


The six-member panel selected the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to handle the lawsuits against DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc., saying the federal court will serve the “convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation.”

Litigation
Reuters |

Lawsuit Against Royal Caribbean for Sailing Cruise Ship Into Fierce Atlantic Storm

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd faces at least two lawsuits by passengers accusing the company of negligently endangering their lives by letting its Anthem of the Seas cruise ship sail into a fierce Atlantic storm this month.


The lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court in Miami claim that Royal Caribbean knew, or should have known, that a coastal storm carrying hurricane-force winds had been forecast before the ship set sail from Cape Liberty, New Jersey on Feb. 6 for a scheduled seven-night cruise to the Bahamas.


Nonetheless, Royal Caribbean chose to sail the ship into the storm, motivated by a desire to profit at the expense of the safety of roughly 4,500 passengers and 1,600 crew, the lawsuits said.

Litigation
The Legal Intelligencer |

State Court Trial Could Push Back Tylenol MDL Bellwether

The bellwether trial in the Philadelphia-based Tylenol multidistrict litigation could be held later than expected depending on when a similar trial is held in New Jersey.


According to a plaintiffs attorney working on the case, Laurence S. Berman of Levin, Fishbein, Sedran & Berman, U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania expressed that he would push back the tentative May 9 trial date to September if the Tylenol trial in New Jersey state court was scheduled to take place close to that time.


"It's simply a matter of not wanting two cases going on at the same time in two ­different courts," Berman said.

Litigation
Reuters |

Leadership Named in Bair Hugger MDL

The federal judge handling the multidistrict litigation over 3M Corp's Bair Hugger surgical warming device has appointed lawyers from three different law firms to serve as plaintiffs' co-lead counsel, including two involved in the Stryker hip implant litigation and one with roots that stretch back to the Dalkon Shield litigation of the 1980s and the Bhopal, India Union Carbide disaster.


U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen in Minnesota on Wednesday named Ben Gordon Jr of Levin Papantonio in Pensacola, Florida; Genevieve Zimmerman of the Minneapolis firm Meshbesher & Spence and Michael Ciresi of Ciresi Conlin as co-lead counsel for the case.


Litigation
The Legal Intelligencer |
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Market Volatility Slowing Purchase of Legal Services

"When you have turmoil in the markets, the ups and downs that we have had lately, you are not going to see a lot of businesses taking any risk," said Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young chairman William R. Sasso. "Just look at the IPO market. It's virtually nonexistent. People just aren't going into the marketplace like they should. There is too much havoc."

Litigation
Law.com |

Mercedes Emissions Class Action Follows VW Claims

A class action filed in federal court in Newark says Mercedes-Benz “Clean Diesel” models are programmed to shut off pollution controls under certain circumstances—a claim reminiscent of the recent scandal at Volkswagen that prompted hundreds of lawsuits.


Diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been found to emit pollutants at a level 65 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency permits, according to the complaint in Lynevych v. Mercedes Benz USA. The company’s diesel cars are programmed to turn off pollution control devices when outside temperatures fall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the complaint.