NuvaRing Lawsuit Discovery to Move Forward

By Austin Kirk
Posted December 14, 2009

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After months and months of delays, a ruling in the federal MDL for the NuvaRing litigation, which is centralized in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, clears the way for discovery to move forward. Judge Rodney Sippel denied motions to dismiss filed in 223 individual NuvaRing lawsuit cases, “unlocking” the doors of discovery.

>>INFORMATION: NuvaRing Birth Control Lawsuits

The NuvaRing attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represent a number of women who have filed a NuvaRing lawsuit over problems caused by the vaginal birth control ring. The complaints allege that Organon failed to adequately warn about the increased risk of blood-clots from NuvaRing, which could cause a heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or death.

Nearly 16 months ago, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation established a federal MDL for the litigation over NuvaRing, consolidating all cases before Judge Sippel to promote efficient handling of the cases during pretrial litigation. However, little progress has been made towards a resolution or ultimate trial dates in the cases due to the tactics of Organon to put off discovery.

Last year, Organon asked the court to require plaintiffs to file a Master Complaint encompassing all of the cases, which plaintiffs eventually consented to. However, Organon then filed a motion to dismiss the litigation on grounds that the Master Complaint lacked specificity. Since neither the Plaintiffs or the Court intended the Master Complaint to be subject to pleading challenges, Judge Sippel denied their Motion to Dismiss and disbanded the Master Complaint.

Since that time, Organon has been filing individual Motions, asking the Court to review each allegation in every complaint and apply the particular laws of individual states regarding the sufficiency of the pleadings.

In an order denying those motions, which was issued last week, Judge Sippel wrote: (citations omitted)

The primary purpose behind assigning multidistrict litigation to a transferee court is to promote efficiency through the coordination of discovery. The Panel on Multidistriction Litigation created this centralized action based on the shared allegations in the individual complaints relating to the manufacture, sale and safety profile of NuvaRing. These core claims are based on similar products liability causes of action asserted in all the individual complaints including failure to adequately warn claims and design defect claims.

Instead of devoting its energy to promoting the efficient coordination of discovery, Organon has decided, through motions practice, to request that I review all 223 (and counting) individual complaints and rule on whether each claim in each complaint comports with federal and state pleading requirements. Organon minimally concedes in its papers that some products liability claims will most likely survive dismissal, but seeks to excise what it deems to be ‘junk claims and meritless allegations’ from each complaint.

Judge Sippel went on to agree with Organon’s tentative concessions, finding that the complaints would survive challenges to the core product liability claims that were the basis of the MDL formed by the Judicial Panel in August 2008. Since dozens of individual complaints reviewed state plausible warning and design product liability claims, Judge Sippel unlocked the doors of discovery.

NUVARING ATTORNEYS

As the filed cases move forward, the attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are continuing to review potential new claims for women who may be entitled to compensation through a NuvaRing lawsuit. Potential claims are being reviewed for users who have experienced problems with NuvaRing, including:

• Blood Clots
• Pulmonary Embolysm
• Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Death

NuvaRing cases are no longer being accepted.