Citations
- 543 F. Supp. 2d 1378
Full opinion text
TRANSFER ORDER
D. LOWELL JENSEN, Acting Chairman.
Before the entire Panel: Plaintiffs in eleven actions have submitted five motions, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, for centralization of a total of 33 actions. No responding party opposes centralization, but there is disagreement over the selection of a transferee forum. Moving and responding plaintiffs variously support centralization in the following districts: the Northern District of California, the District of Colorado, the Middle District of Florida, the Eastern District of Louisiana, the District of Minnesota, the Southern District of Mississippi, the Eastern or Western District of Missouri, the District of New Jersey, the Southern District of New York, or the Northern District of Ohio. Responding defendants support centralization in the District of New Jersey.
This litigation currently consists of 33 actions listed on Schedule A and pending in seventeen districts as follows: twelve actions in the District of New Jersey, three actions in the Northern District of California, two actions each in the District of Kansas, the Northern District of Mississippi, the Southern District of New York, and the Northern District of Ohio, and one action each in the Eastern District of California, the District of Colorado, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of Louisiana, the District of Minnesota, the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District of Ohio, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the District of Puerto Rico.
On the basis of the papers filed and hearing session held, we find that these 33 actions involve common questions of fact, and that centralization under Section 1407 in the District of New Jersey will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation. All actions share factual questions concerning allegations relating to the use and/or marketing of the drugs Vytorin and/or Zetia. Centralization under Section 1407 will eliminate duplicative discovery; prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings, including those with respect to certification of class actions; and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel and the judiciary.
We are persuaded that the District of New Jersey is an appropriate transferee forum for this litigation. Because Merck and Schering-Plough have their corporate headquarters within the District of New Jersey, relevant discovery may be found there. In addition, transfer to this district enjoys the support of defendants and several plaintiffs.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, the actions listed on Schedule A and pending outside the District of New Jersey are transferred to the District of New Jersey and, with the consent of that court, assigned to the Honorable Dennis M. Cavanaugh for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings with the actions pending there and listed on Schedule A.
SCHEDULE A
MDL No. 1938 — IN RE VYTORIN/ZE-TIA MARKETING, SALES PRACTICES AND PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION
Eastern District of California
George Artenstein v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-152
Northern District of California
Richard Haskin v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 3:08-376
ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 Health Benefits Trust, et al. v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 3:08-531
Helen Aronis v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 4:08-352
District of Colorado
Ronna Dee Kitsmiller, et al. v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 1:08-120
Middle District of Florida
Marion J. Greene v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 3:08-69
Southern District of Florida
Sam A. Ciotti v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 0:08-60077
District of Kansas
Charles Swanson, et al. v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-2040
John P. Dudley v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 6:08-1027
Eastern District of Louisiana
RoseAnn S. Flores v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-674
District of Minnesota
Jody Fischer v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 0:08-203
Northern District of Mississippi
Susan McCulley v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-16
Lisa Mims v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 4:08-10
District of New Jersey
Rita Polk v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-285
Jay Klitzner v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-316
Sandra Weiss v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-320
Lionel Galperin v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-349
Robert J. McGarry v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-350
Charles D. Maurer, et al. v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-393
Daniel A. Brown v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-395
Steven Knight v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-396
Ken W. Bever v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-430
David DeAngelis v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-431
Ciro Verdi et al. v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-432
Marilyn Woodman v. Schering-Plough Corp., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-437
Eastern District of New York
Sigmond Tomaszewski v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 1:08-258
Southern District of New York
Joyce B. Rheingold, et al. v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 1:08-438
Stanley Levy, et al. v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 1:08-491
Northern District of Ohio
Theodore Sahley v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 1:08-153
Panayiotis Balaouras v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 1:08-198
Southern District of Ohio
Dennis Kean v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-61
Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Fred Singer v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2:08-331
District of Puerto Rico
Alexis Alicea-Figueroa, et al. v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., C.A. No. 3:08-1099
. Although additional submissions styled as “motions” were submitted to the Panel, they were docketed as responses in accordance with Panel Rule 7.2(h). See Rule 7.2(h), R.P.J.P.M.L., 199 F.R.D. 425, 434 (2001).
. Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals; Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck); Schering-Plough Corp. (Schering-Plough); Schering Corp.; Schering-Plough Biopharma; Schering-Plough Healthcare Products, Inc.; Schering-Plough Healthcare Products Sales Corp.; Merck Sharp & Dohme (Italia) S.P.A.; MSP Singapore Co., LLC; and MSP Technology Singapore PTE, Ltd.
. In addition to the 33 actions now before the Panel, the parties have notified the Panel of 67 related actions pending in various districts across the country. These actions and any other related actions will be treated as potential tag-along actions. See Rules 7.4 and 7.5, R.P.J.P.M.L., 199 F.R.D. 425, 435-36 (2001).