Judicial Panel Grants Defense Request, Opposed by Plaintiffs, for Pretrial Coordination of Class Action Lawsuits Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 but Rejects Defense Request to Transfer Class Actions to Southern District of New York or to District of Connecticut
More than fifty (50) products liability class action lawsuits were filed, the vast majority in the District of Minnesota, against various defendants alleging adverse side effects from use of the drug Mirapex, and challenging the timeliness and adequacy of defendants’ warnings concerning those side effects. In re Mirapex Products Liab. Litig., 493 F.Supp.2d 1376, 2007 WL 1853953, *1 (Jud.Pan.Mult.Lit. 2007). Defense attorneys for the common defendants filed a motion with the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) requesting centralization of the class actions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 in the Southern District of New York or in the District of Connecticut. The plaintiffs’ lawyers who responded to the motion opposed pretrial coordination, but argued alternatively that the District of Minnesota was the appropriate transferee court, id. The Judicial Panel granted the motion to centralize the class actions and selected the District of Minnesota because “i) this district has the most advanced of the 58 actions; ii) the judge there has had an opportunity to become familiar with the litigation; and iii) Minneapolis is easily accessible.” Id.
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