Levaquin - Court Meetings
After weeks of relative quiet, news indicates that some of the increasing lawsuits against the makers of Levaquin are going forward. This week, a conference was held to discuss matters pertinent to the assorted cases, as well as about how best to proceed.
There were a number of matters discussed at the meetings, and reports reveal the courts and the litigants are all taking the matter very seriously. The first bellwether trial for Levaquin toxicity is set to take place in approximately 60 days. Additionally, interested parties spoke of scheduling a second bellwether case as well, which indicates neither party wishes to rely solely on the outcome of a single case. In fact, there are approximately six such bellwether cases pending in total, though scheduling has only been discussed for these first two.
Also on review are the terms of the cases in general, as well as a number of as-yet unaddressed or outstanding motions relating to the various cases.
Bellwether cases are a common occurrence in very large lawsuits such as this. There are well over a thousand cases currently pending against the makers of Levaquin, with every indication that more will be filed as time passes. A bellwether case is one that is used to test public and legal opinion on a matter. The way that the bellwether cases go will shape the assorted litigants' opinions about how to continue.
If the result seems favorable to the manufacturers, they likely will push forward with efforts to have the cases tried in court or dismissed. On the other hand, if the juries seem sympathetic to the litigants and offer large penalty awards, then the defendants may seek to offer settlements out of court. This is the pattern of events that largely took place in the recent Paxil lawsuits, where Paxil's makers settled for several billion dollars after losing important bellwether cases.
