Yaz / Yasmin Attorneys Set for Hearing on Consolidation of Litigation
Tomorrow, attorneys representing women who have filed a lawsuit over Yaz and Yasmin problems will appear before the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation during hearings to determine whether all cases filed in federal district courts throughout the United States should be consolidated in an MDL for purposes of pretrial litigation.
As of last month, there were about 50 different Yaz lawsuits or Yasmin lawsuits pending against Bayer Pharmaceuticals, spread among 12 different federal district courts in 9 states and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. All of the complaints involve similar allegations that the drug maker failed to adequately research their popular birth control pills or warn about the potential increased risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, gallbladder disease and sudden death associated with Yaz and Yasmin.
A group of plaintiffs filed a motion to transfer and coordinate the Yaz/Yasmin litigation in July. Since that time, Bayer filed a response agreeing that the cases are sufficiently similar to each other to merit consolidation under the federal rules. The MDL panel will decide whether consolidation of all of the cases is appropriate and hear competing proposals from attorneys involved in the cases about where the litigation should be centralized for pretrial proceedings.
If a Yaz / Yasmin MDL is formed, all of the various lawsuits filed throughout the United States would be assigned to one judge, who would coordinate pretrial discovery and litigation in a manner similar to how a class action lawsuit would be managed. Although the cases would be consolidated, they remain an individual claims, and if a settlement or other resolution is not reached during pretrial litigation, the cases will be sent back to the court where they were filed for trial.
Similar coordination was recently established for all Yaz and Yasmin suits pending in Pennsylvania state court, where Bayer is based. The state court litigation has been consolidated for mass tort treatment in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Richmond, Virginia.
YASMIN AND YAZ ATTORNEYS
The Yaz / Yasmin attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are continuing to investigate new lawsuits for women who took a birth control pill containing drospirenone, the progestin found in Yaz, Yasmin and generic Ocella, and suffered:
- Heart attack or Stroke
- Deep Vein Thromosis
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Gallbladder Removal
- Wrongful Death
To determine if you, a friend or family member may be entitled to compensation, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.
