J&J Settles Third Round of Pelvic Mesh Cases

Protest in Charleston WV fed court, June 2015

Mesh Medical Device News Desk, March 28, 2017 ~ J&J (Johnson & Johnson) has been the last company to come to the settlement table, but an unopposed motion announces a third settlement for an unknown number of pelvic mesh women.

We don’t know how many women are involved or the dollar amount, but J&J has agreed to settle an unknown number of pelvic mesh cases.

According to Pretrial Order #250, filed in multidistrict litigation in Charleston, WV, Fleming, Nolen & Jez are the plaintiffs' firm that has reached the Qualified Settlement Fund with Ethicon, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

The settlement has reportedly been in the works for some time, say sources. It occurred as the Susan Smith case (here) was being prepared for trial in Bergen County, New Jersey before Judge Rochelle Hartz.

Smith v. Ethicon trial was initially set for November 2016 then moved to January of this year.

Filed Monday, March 27, PTO#250 is a Motion establishing the Qualified Settlement Fund. The unopposed motion is granted by Judge Joseph Goodwin, overseeing multidistrict litigation in his Charleston, WV court.

Byrd federal court, Charleston WV

Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson has consistently had the largest number of product liability cases filed in this federal court. As of today, there are 38,035 cases filed with 5,547 cases closed. That number represents the lowest number of closed cases proportionately.

As of today there are 102,133 cases filed against seven manufacturers in this MDL where nationwide cases have been consolidated.

Since November first, 4,840 additional product liability cases, naming all seven manufacturers,have been filed in Charleston, WV court.

Scott Freeman of The Settlement Alliance of Houston is appointed as the fund administrator. The settlement will be deposited in J.P. Morgan Chase Bank which will serve as the Esdrow Agent. The Master Settlement Agreement must also pay into the MDL No. 2327 Fund.

The Settlement Alliance offers Structured Settlement Trusts to provide tax-free payments.

Scott Freeman, The Settlement Alliance

The Houston-based Nolan law firm had several hundred transvaginal mesh cases. It is unclear how many are included in this settlement. George Nolan has a reputation of taking care of his clients and making sure they receive a just amount, says an unnamed source.

This would be the third settlement offer by J&J, which has been he firm least likely to come to the settlement table. In January, J&J made an offer to settle up to 3,000 lawsuits for $120 million to resolve up to 3,000 transvaginal mesh cases.

Last September, J&J offered settlements to an undisclosed number of clients of Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley. See the Mesh News Desk story here. ###