Paragard Lawsuit Updates & News | October 2024

Teva Pharmaceutical has agreed to pay $450 million to settle allegations of using charities to cover Medicare patients’ costs for its drug Copaxone, constituting kickbacks. The settlement also addresses claims of price-fixing for generic drugs. Given this, concerns about Teva’s conduct in the Paragard litigation seem credible.

Despite a recent slowdown in litigation, 12 new cases emerged in the first two days of October. One case involves a Texas resident whose Paragard device, implanted in Idaho in 2019 and removed in Texas in 2022, broke during the removal process. This led to complications, requiring multiple attempts to extract the remaining fragments. The lawsuit claims the defendants did not properly test the device, misrepresented its safety, and withheld information about the risks of device breakage.

In September, 49 cases were dismissed from the Paragard class action MDL, reducing the total to 2,747. This change is typical in ongoing litigation and doesn’t reflect any significant shift, but rather the usual fluctuations seen in long-running cases.

The court has scheduled a motions process for the defendants' motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitations. Plaintiffs will file their omnibus response by November 11, 2024, and defendants will reply by December 2, 2024. Individual plaintiffs may also file responses on December 2, with defendants replying by December 16, 2024. Many cases involve the statute of repose, which sets a firm deadline, rather than the statute of limitations. The dismissals mainly target cases from Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

Plaintiffs plan to depose Dr. Barton Cobert in Baltimore on November 25, 2024, unless a global Paragard settlement occurs beforehand. Dr. Cobert will discuss a 2010 pharmacovigilance audit he conducted, which assessed the company's compliance with drug and device safety standards.

Depo-Provera brain tumor lawsuits have emerged as the latest mass tort in birth control litigation. These cases follow a history of birth control products causing harm, often linked to manufacturers prioritizing profits over safety.

Plaintiffs plan to depose Dr. Barton Cobert in Baltimore on November 25, 2024, unless a global Paragard settlement occurs beforehand. Dr. Cobert is expected to discuss a pharmacovigilance audit he conducted in 2010 regarding Paragard, which evaluated the company’s compliance with safety standards.

A Missouri woman has filed a lawsuit against Teva and Cooper, claiming injuries from the Paragard intrauterine device. She alleges the device broke during removal, leading to pain, mental anguish, and possible future surgeries. The lawsuit includes claims of strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, consumer protection violations, and fraud. The plaintiff is seeking a jury trial and may add further claims if additional complications arise.

Following a brief decline last month, 57 new cases were added to the Paragard MDL in August, raising the total number of active cases to 2,793.

Defendants oppose the plaintiffs' motion to compel production of 31 custodial files, calling the request excessive and unjustified. They argue it’s the plaintiffs’ responsibility to specify custodians and that producing all files would be burdensome. However, they haven't clearly shown why providing these files would be overly difficult, especially given their potential relevance to the case.

Plaintiffs are aggressively seeking documents from the defendants that they believe are crucial to their case. The issue arose after Teva and Cooper’s new legal teams, taking over in late 2023 and early 2024, identified 31 additional custodians who may have relevant information. Plaintiffs argue that previous defense teams failed to uncover these documents. They are now requesting the court to compel the defendants to produce all related files immediately and at the defendants' expense, ensuring all pertinent evidence is disclosed.

The focus is on potential settlements, with the severity of injuries being a key factor in determining settlement amounts. Cases where the IUD arm breaks during removal can range from minor to severe, requiring anything from immediate removal to advanced surgical procedures. The severity of complications, including pain, infection, or organ damage, will be crucial in negotiating settlement values, particularly in cases involving permanent damage.

A new lawsuit was recently filed in the Paragard class action MDL using the short form complaint. The plaintiff, who had her Paragard IUD implanted in Georgia in 2017, experienced a fracture during its removal at a Planned Parenthood clinic in New York four years later. The broken pieces caused her significant pain and necessitated additional medical treatments.

The Paragard MDL moved closer to the trial phase following a status conference focused on the bellwether trial schedule and pretrial motions. Despite this progress, the number of active cases saw a slight decrease, dropping from 2,774 in July to 2,736 in August, a reduction of 38 cases. While still ranked as the 14th largest MDL, the case is not among the largest ongoing multidistrict litigations.

Plaintiffs' lawyers have filed a motion to amend their Second Amended Master Personal Injury Complaint to include Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Teva Ltd.) as a defendant. They argue that recent discoveries suggest Teva Ltd., the parent company of other Teva entities already named, may be liable for injuries from the Paragard copper IUD. Plaintiffs claim there was no undue delay or bad faith in this request, citing delays in discovery due to issues, including the international crisis in Israel, where Teva Ltd. is based.

A Los Angeles woman is the latest plaintiff to join the Paragard class action MDL. Her short form complaint states that during the removal of her Paragard IUD in July 2022, it fractured, requiring an additional procedure in October 2022 to remove the fragments. The MDL now includes over 2,700 cases.

CooperCompanies announced strong financial results for its fiscal second quarter ending April 30, 2024. Revenue increased 7% year-over-year to $942.6 million, with CooperVision rising 8% to $635.9 million and CooperSurgical growing 6% to $306.7 million. These robust results indicate Cooper has sufficient resources to pay fair settlements in the Paragard litigation.

Over the past 30 days, 39 new cases have been added to the Paragard IUD class action MDL. The total number of pending cases is now 2,690.

Parties in the Teva-Cooper lawsuit agreed on a method for using technology (TAR) to review documents in the discovery phase.

Key points:

• Random samples of documents will be reviewed to ensure accuracy and representativeness.
• Reviews will focus on documents from key personnel.
• Checks will be made to avoid excluding relevant documents.

A recent lawsuit has been filed into the Georgia MDL concerning the Paragard IUD, which was implanted in 2014 and removed in 2022. The procedure, carried out at Kaiser Permanente in Elk Grove, California, resulted in one arm of the copper IUD breaking and remaining inside the patient. This suit was submitted using a short-form complaint.

The Paragard MDL continued its slow, steady growth with 36 new cases transferred in over the past 30 days. This brings the total number of pending cases to 2,651.

In the case of Mendez v. Teva Pharmaceuticals, a new lawsuit was filed yesterday in the Paragard MDL. A woman from Washington state claims that her Paragard IUD, inserted in 2014, broke during its removal in 2021. She is seeking damages for pain and suffering, disfigurement, and mental anguish due to the medical treatment required for the breakage.

As it enters its sixth year, the Paragard class action MDL continues to see a steady influx of new cases. With 55 new cases added in the latest count, the total now reaches 2,615.

Woman filed a lawsuit within the Paragard MDL, alleging her Paragard device broke during removal in 2018. She contends the statute of limitations should not bar her claim because she was unaware she might have a cause of action until contacting her lawyers recently, upon learning she could potentially file a claim.

The Paragard class action MDL saw a significant increase in February, with 126 new cases added, marking the largest monthly volume since last summer. The MDL now has over 2,500 pending cases.

28 new cases were added to the Paragard class action MDL in January 2024, bringing the total to 2,444 pending cases.

A New York woman filed a lawsuit against the makers of Paragard following complications during the device's removal, including a broken arm of the IUD that required an additional procedure.

The Paragard Multi-District Litigation (MDL) has experienced a marginal increase in case numbers. Key points include:

• Current Case Total: The MDL now comprises 2,416 pending cases.
• Recent Case Transfers: Only 2 new cases have been transferred to the MDL in the past two weeks.

The Paragard class action Multi-District Litigation (MDL) has recently seen an addition of 37 new cases, bringing the total pending case count to 2,283. Notably, the influx of new cases in the Paragard MDL has slowed down over the last few months, indicating a possible sustained trend in the litigation's progression. Despite this, our firm continues to receive inquiries from potential claimants interested in filing a Paragard lawsuit, although the current rate of new cases is noticeably lower compared to six months ago.

The Paragard class action Multi-District Litigation (MDL) has seen a modest increase this month, with 37 new cases added, bringing the total number of pending cases to 2,283. This trend suggests a potentially enduring shift in the pace of the litigation, indicating a more consistent and steady progression in the handling and filing of new cases associated with the MDL.

In the Paragard MDL (1:20-md-2974), the court mandated completion of a Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS) by all involved. However, several participants missed their deadlines. The court, after issuing a warning and requesting explanations, has categorized these non-compliances into six distinct groups:

1. Cases from categories 1-4, encompassing those who didn't provide a valid reason for non-compliance, failed to correct errors, or were unreachable, have now been officially dismissed.
2. Category 5 comprises individuals who sought extra time. They've been granted an additional 21 days. Failure to meet this extended deadline will result in their cases being dismissed.
3. For Category 6, submissions that arrived late but post-court warning have been accepted and will proceed.

The Paragard class action Multi-District Litigation (MDL) saw an influx of 99 additional cases over the past month, elevating the total number of active lawsuits to 2,246. This expansion comes as the legal process continues to gear up for the first bellwether trial, which is set to provide crucial insights but remains a year away on the legal timeline.

The Paragard class action MDL has seen significant growth with the addition of 99 new cases over the past month. This increase elevates the total count of active cases in the litigation to 2,246. This development comes as we stand one year away from the scheduled commencement of the first bellwether test trial, marking a critical juncture in the ongoing litigation.

As the Paragard class action MDL marches towards its first bellwether trial scheduled for next year, case-specific fact discovery takes center stage. The upcoming month is slated for comprehensive depositions involving plaintiffs, their spouses, and other pertinent fact witnesses from the bellwether candidate cases. Following this, the spotlight will pivot to expert witness depositions, setting the stage for critical advancements in this unfolding litigation.

Around 100 cases in the Paragard class action litigation are set to be dismissed due to non-compliance with specific requirements. The majority of these plaintiffs have lost touch with their attorneys, leading to potential dismissals.

The Paragard class action MDL saw an addition of 53 cases, bringing the total to 2,063. This month marked continuous growth in the number of cases added to the MDL.

The Court emphasized the importance of plaintiffs submitting their Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS) from a previous mandate in November 2022. Currently, 132 plaintiffs risk case dismissal due to non-compliance. Additionally, 44 new cases were added to the MDL, and an accelerated fact discovery phase is anticipated for the initial pool of Paragard bellwether discovery cases.

There was a significant spike in the number of cases added to the Paragard class action MDL, with 186 new cases introduced. This growth brought the total number of cases to 1,966. A court conference also hinted at optimism regarding advancing Paragard settlement talks.

64 new cases were added to the class action MDL, with projections suggesting that the total number of plaintiffs could cross 2,000 by the year-end.

The MDL witnessed the addition of 34 new plaintiffs. This was a decrease compared to the previous month, which saw a high of 105 new cases.

The judge provided an outline for selecting representative cases for the first bellwether trials in 2024. A bellwether trial helps gauge jury reactions to repeated testimonies and evidence across multiple cases, guiding future trials and potential settlements. Additionally, 105 new lawsuits were added to the Paragard class action MDL.