Judge Wants To Scale Back Zyprexa Lawsuit
6 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // April 11th, 2008 // 12:25 pm
At a federal court hearing in Brooklyn yesterday, US District Judge Jack Weinstein told lawyers that he probably won’t allow patients and insurers who paid for Zyprexa for uses approved by the FDA, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, to sue the drugmaker as a group. He also doesn’t expect the purchasers will be able to claim punitive damages. The case “ought to be settled. I really think that we’re not dealing with very much money,” Bloomberg News reports.
Weinstein questioned whether an appeals court ruling last week in a case against cigarette makers requires him to reject the purchasers’ request to have the case certified as a class action. In that decision, a federal appeals court in New York on April 3 reversed Weinstein’s decision certifying a nationwide class of “light” cigarette smokers who claim cigarette makers defrauded them into believing those products were safer than regular cigarettes, Bloomberg writes. The appeals court ruled there were too many differences among the smokers for their claims to be tried at one time.
Anthony Vale, a lawyer for Lilly, argued that the ruling in the smokers’ suit blocks Weinstein from granting class status to Zyprexa purchasers. Tom Sobol, a lawyer for Zyprexa purchasers, countered that Weinstein should certify classes of individual Zyprexa users and third-party payers, such as insurers. He also maintained Lilly exaggerated the effectiveness of Zyprexa; failed to adequately warn about side effects including weight gain, diabetes and other illnesses; and promoted Zyprexa for off-label use, including for treating elderly dementia patients and children.
Lilly is accused in the suit of violating US civil-racketeering laws, and the purchasers seek to recover money they say they were overcharged for the drug. Weinstein said he wouldn’t certify a class based on uses approved by the FDA. Later in the hearing, he said he would reconsider that decision before issuing a final ruling. Weinstein didn’t say when he would issue a ruling, but would consider certifying a class of off-label Zyprexa purchasers.
At the end of the hearing, Weinstein, who is overseeing federal suits involving Zyprexa, referred to a suit that claims shareholders were defrauded by Lilly’s failure to disclose information about the drug, causing them to lose money when the information became public. “I don’t think there’s much to that case,” he said, according to Bloomberg.
Lilly has paid $1.2 billion to settle 31,000 claims brought by patients who claimed they weren’t adequately warned about side effects. About 1,200 similar lawsuits remain pending in the US. Last month, Lilly agreed to pay $15 million to settle Alaska’s claim that the drugmaker added to state medical costs by withholding data about the increased incidence of diabetes. Alaska sought $270 million in damages. Several other states have filed similar lawsuits and talks with federal prosecutors are also under way.
Lauren
One never knows what Judge Weinstein will come up with next. I wonder if he has ever met family members of those who have died from this drug - died due to Lilly hiding the lethal side effects of diabetes, hyperglycemia, or DEATH
Matt
Is he on Lilly’s take?
pg
This is unbelievable.
Isn’t this the same Jack Weinstein that once said (in 1995)
in his book
“Individual Justice in Mass Tort Litigation”
on page 70:
“[p]rotective orders may have a legitimate role when there is no public impact or when true trade secrets are involved. But we can strike a fairer balance between privacy interests of corporations and the health and safety of the public. A publicly maintained legal system ought not protect those who engage in misconduct, conceal the cause of injury from the victims, or render potential victims vulnerable. Moreover, such secrecy defeats the deterrent function of the justice system.”
Is it the same ‘Judge’ that took sides with Protective Orders on Zyprexa documents that showed injury to people?
Sometimes it seems book are written by authors who turn out to be total hypocrites, and being a “judge” does not exlude criticism as to a lack of ethics.
terranceshatto
well my ex wife , mother of my children committed suicide while in zyprexa and prozac both drugs known for suicide. she often complained of drug effects. dr. just added a third drug to the coctail. she drank acid The Works toilet bowl cleaner to find relief.18 hrs to die a horrible death in intensive care while 3 of 4 children stood by . the 4th was in iraq fighting for E I Lilly right and ability to produce drugs in this country. Ironic Judge.
MikeMann
Weinstein speaks from both sides of his mouth although obviously this 90 yr old should have retired 20 yrs ago and is only a Bush puppet helping these crooked lying elite corps like Lilly who has been proven negligent in every way.
Thr good news is when the silver spoon drunk cokehead spoiled rotten rich punk brat fratrat exists office in Jan 09 we hope a new Democrat will be in office and all federal judges will be fired and new loyal Democrat ones replace the old ones.
That is unless this old fart worthless war monger McCain steal his way in for 100 yrs of warfare in a bogus Iraq conflict. Odds are against a GOP in the WH by a long shot and for that we thank the chimphead idiot screwup but its been a long 8 yrs and the damage done is a 1000 yrs worth. Nevermore. A Bush will never again be anywhere close to DC for at least a couple hundred yrs.
600% increase in oil since 2001 and food costs will cause starvation under this despicable idiot.
Weinstein is a friend of these criminal Bushites.
madandhurt
We understand now that each person need to take charge of your decision to take drugs. If you chose to take a drug for a problem and there isn’t intent to harm, you give up the right if you are harmed. Mass tort have caused many problems, so be informed. The more persons the drug companies harm, the law become less victim friendly. I have no ill feeling toward The Hon.Judge Weinstein.