Multidistrict Litigation Possible in DePuy Hip Replacement Recall Lawsuits

By Jack Simony

A judicial panel on multidistrict litigation will meet next week at Duke University Law School  to hear arguments on whether MDL should be followed  for the DePuy hip replacement recall lawsuits, according to a report on Webnewswire.com.

In August, DePuy Orthopaedics recalled 93,000 if their ASR XL Acetabular Systems and ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems, because a study from the National Joint Registry showed 1 in 8 ASR recipients had problems with in 5 years if getting them.

In some cases a second hip surgery was required.

Those suing the company allege the devices wre defective and not tested correctly.

- By Jack Simony

U.S. Solicitor General Wants Supreme Court to Reject Reglan Lawsuit Appeal

By Jack Simony

The U.S. Solicitor General wants to the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal by drug companies in a generic Reglan lawsuit filed over a claim about failing to adequately warn about a rare movement order associated with the drug, AboutLawsuits reported. 

“The court of appeals correctly held that respondent’s failure-to-warn claims are not categorically preempted, because a generic manufacturer, can (and indeed, must) inform FDA of new information about risks that may require a change in the labeling of its drug,” the Solicitor General stated, according to the website.

- By Jack Simony

Law Departments Shift Money, Work In-House, Survey Says

By Jack Simony

More corporate businesses are taking their legal matters into their own hands and moving the legal teams in-house instead of hiring other companies, CorpCounsel.com reported.

In a recent study, released by Altman Weil's Chief Legal Officer Survey,  63 percent of the officers questioned said they had increased their internal budgets from 2009 to 2010, and 29 percent said they would decrease their use of outside firms in the coming year.

- By Jack Simony

Plaintiffs' Steering Committee Named in Case Against Toyota

By Jack Simony

A Texas judge approved a committee of five lawyers to be on a plaintiffs' steering committee that will manage almost two dozen state court cases alleging sudden acceleration against Toyota, Law.com reported.

These 20 cases in Texas are separate from the more than 200 suits already coordinated in federal multidistrict litigation in California, and are coordinated as part of a state multidistrict litigation.

- By Jack Simony

Menopause Drug Prempro Raises Death, Breast Cancer Risk, Report Says

By Jack Simony

A new report in The Journal of American Medical Association says the new menopause drug Prempo increases a woman's risk of beast cancer and makes them more likely to die of breast cancer, according to a report in USA Today.

The drug is said to calm hot flashes, and has a combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin, both used by 15 percent to 20 percent of postmenopausal women in the US.

The study was conducted by Rowan Chlebowski, of the Lost Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, as part of a government-sponsored project known as the Women's Health Initiative.

- By Jack Simony

Law Language Key in Vaccine Case Before Supreme Court

By Jack Simony

The meaning of the word "unavoidable" was at the center of recent Supreme Court that in the end barred some, but not all, lawsuits against vaccine manufactures, The New York Times reported.

The court was visiting a 1986 law that Congress used to try to create that would compensate people injured by vaccines while also barring some.

The case was brought by the parents of a girl who received a D.T.P. vaccine as an infant in 1992, and now suffers intense seizures and has developmental problems.

- By Jack Simony

Medtronic Will Pay $268 Million to Settle Defibrillator Suits

By Jack Simony

Medtronic will pay $268 million to end the Meditronic Sprint Fidelis defribillation suits following a 2007 recall of the devices, Law.com reported.

The company's decision comes as the related suits are pending in Minneapolis federal multidistrict litigation and other courts throughout the company.

"The settlement is a compromise of disputed claims, and the parties have not admitted any liability or the validity of any defense in the litigation," said the company in a statement.

- By Jack Simony

Supreme Court Turns Down Speech Ejections Appeal

By Jack Simony

The two people who were thrown out of a 2005 speech given by George W. Bush were denied an appeal by the Supreme Court, The New York Times reported.

Justice Ruth Badner Ginsburg wrote on behalf of the court that she could not "see how reasonable public officials, or any staff or volunteers under their direction, could have viewed the bumper sticker as a permissible reason for depriving Weise and Young of access to the event.”

The incident happened while Bush was speaking about social security during a public event at a Denver museum. Leslie Weise and Alex Young say they were excluded from the speech because they arrived in a car with the bumper sticker that said, "No More Blood for Oil," and claim their First Amendment rights were violated.

- By Jack Simony

From The New York Times Op-Ed Page: We Haven't Hit Bottom Yet

By Jack Simony

In a recent article, New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert talks about the country's political upheaval and its connection to the economic uncertainty going on at the same time.

Read his column here.

- By Jack Simony

New Hedge Fund, Branch Hill Capital, Launches

By Jack Simony

A new hedge fund, Branch Hill Capital, has been launched by Ron Beller and Manal Mehta, the New York Times reported, citing a report in the Financial News.

The fund started in June, and is up 15 percent according to the report.

The two started the fund with $40 million of their own capital, and are trying to raise $250 million from outside investors, the report said.

- By Jack Simony

More Young People Interested in Fencing

By Jack Simony

A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News says fencing is the new sport of choice for young people.

The Pacific Fencing Club in Alameda, California has been open since 1984 and has seen the shift in age first hand, owner Harold Hayes told the newspaper.

Fencing is a great sport for younger people to get involved with. It’s gets them off the couches and learning a skill-based sport that can improve their concentration and ability to read their competitor – something they will use every day whether they are a businessman or a writer.

"When I was in college and decided to go out for fencing instead of football, many people were surprised at my choice, given my natural build and love of the game," Jack Simony said. "But, overtime fencing has proven to be one of the most rewarding sports I've ever engaged in and I'm delighted I have been able to stay competitive and aggressive at any age."

- By Jack Simony