Top Class Action Lawsuits
Xarelto Lawsuits Head North. Bayer Inc, is facing a Xarelto class action lawsuit filed in Canada—in Calgary to be precise—alleging its blood thinner is linked to dozens of deaths. The lead plaintiff in this class action alleges that the anticoagulant drug caused her to suffer from an uncontrollable bleeding event which nearly led her to cardiac arrest. Sadly, this lawsuit has a familiar ring to it.
According to reports published in the Calgary Sun, as of March 2015, Health Canada had received an estimated 1,100 adverse event reports from patients taking Xarelto. The article indicates that, according to a lawyer from Toronto, if the class action is successful, “…it would be in the millions of dollars.” The Calgary Sun report also discussed the likely formation of another class action suit in Ontario at this time.
This Canadian Xarelto class action lawsuit closely follows the formation of Multidistrict Litigation number 2592 in the United States by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. This MDL consolidated and transferred over 2,800 lawsuits filed in reference to Xarelto by plaintiffs who allege much the same. These lawsuits are additionally joined by another group of 620 Xarelto lawsuits which have been formed into a mass tort program by the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lawsuits in these groupings have been filed against defendant Bayer AG as well as Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subdivision of Johnson & Johnson corporation.
Not in our Nature? Where would we be without our weekly dose of consumer fraud litigation? This week, it’s Sunology Natural Sun Protection who is facing a consumer fraud class action lawsuit. The allegations are that the advertising of its sunscreen products is misleading to the consumer.
Filed by Vivian Douek, individually and for all others similarly situated, the Sunology Natural Sun complaint alleges the defendant, McNabb LLC, doing business as Sunology Natural Sun Protection, markets and advertises certain of its SPF 50 sunscreens as containing “active ingredients derived from nature”, and therefore these products are “natural.”
However, the plaintiffs contend that these products in fact contain various artificial and synthetic ingredients. Consequently, consumers paid a premium for products the defendant misrepresented, according to the complaint.
Therefore, the lawsuit states that the defendant is in violation of New York General Business Law and consumer protection statutes in every state, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, breach of express and implied warranties, unjust enrichment and negligent misrepresentation.
Top Settlements
NFL Concussion Update… Heads up—and pardon the pun—this really isn’t a laughing matter. A $1 billion settlement has been upheld in the infamous concussion class action lawsuit brought by National Football League (NFL) players against the NFL.
Approved by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the revised settlement deal will resolve thousands of lawsuits brought against the league, as well as covering over 20,000 retired NFL players for the next 65 years. According to estimates by the NFL, 6,000 former players, or nearly three in 10, could develop Alzheimer’s disease or moderate dementia.
The original settlement was appealed as critics had argued that any settlement must include future payments for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain decay found in dozens of former players after their deaths.
While the appellate judges acknowledge those points in the 69-page ruling, they found the settlement was for the greater good of all players.
According to the terms of the agreement, funds of up to $4 million could be paid for prior deaths involving CTE. However, a cut-off date of April 2015 has been set to avoid the encouraging suicides.
Ok –on that note – we’re done here. See you at the Bar!