In the federal court system, there are now more than 50 Eliquis lawsuits filed, and more of these drug injury and death cases are expected. Given this situation, in early February 2017 the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established this consolidation of all federal court Eliquis cases, IN RE: ELIQUIS (APIXABAN) PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION — MDL No. 2754.
From the February 7, 2017 JPML Order establishing this Eliquis federal court MDL we get this information about the litigation:
[W]e find that these actions involve common questions of fact, and that centralization will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation. All the actions share common factual questions arising out of allegations that plaintiffs suffered severe bleeding and related injuries as a result of taking Eliquis (apixaban), that defendants did not conduct sufficient testing of the drug, and that defendants’ warnings and instructions as to the alleged risks, including the unavailability of a reversal agent to counteract bleeding, were inadequate. Issues concerning the design, testing, manufacture, regulatory approval, labeling, and marketing of Eliquis thus are common to all actions….We conclude that the Southern District of New York is an appropriate transferee district for this litigation. Common defendants BMS and Pfizer both have their corporate headquarters within the district, and therefore relevant documents and witnesses are likely to be located there. Sixteen actions on the motion and three potential tag-along actions are pending there.
In addition to the federal court Eliquis cases, there are a significant number of Eliquis lawsuits filed in the California state court system. As a result, a petition to coordinate those California Eliquis cases was submitted to the Chair of the Judicial Council seeking to establish a consolidation, there, which would be similar to the federal court Eliquis MDL.
In California, if that petition to coordinate the Eliquis lawsuits — which was submitted to the Chair of the Judicial Council (the Chief Justice) and then assigned to a motion judge for determination — is granted, its result would be called the California Eliquis JCCP (Judicial Council Coordination Proceedings).
It is currently expected that the determination about the creation of this California Eliquis JCCP will be made in the next couple of months.
[Read this article in full at original source]__________________________________________________________
Free Eliquis Case Evaluation
Strictly Confidential, No Obligation
___________________________________________________________