Craig S. Hilliard

Craig S. Hilliard is a Shareholder and member of the Stark & Stark Mass Tort Litigation Group. Mr. Hilliard has extensive experience prosecuting and defending class actions involving securities and consumer fraud claims. He has served as trial counsel to three broker-dealer defendants in one of the largest class actions in the country. Mr. Hilliard has considerable experience litigating claims, as counsel to both plaintiffs and defendants, under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Acts. He practices in numbers State and Federal jurisdictions and was recently admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

Posts by Craig S. Hilliard

Democrats Endorses Bill in Congress to Hold Generic Drugmakers Liable

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in Darvocet® and Darvon®, Defective Drugs

Bills were just recently introduced in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate which would effectively overrule the Supreme Court’s decision 2011 decision in Pliva v. Mensing by “allow[ing] generic drug companies to be held liable under state tort law for failing to update warning labels with known dangers.” In a 5-4 split,… Continue Reading

Johnson & Johnson Continued Marketing FDA Rejected Hip Device in Europe

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in DePuy ASR®, Medical Devices

According to a recent New York Times article, Johnson & Johnson continued to market an artificial hip replacement in Europe, despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejecting its sale in the United States, based on safety concerns.  The company also continued to sell a similarly designed device in the United States, the articular surface… Continue Reading

Panel Scheduled to Meet to Consider MDL Treatment in Actos Litigation

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in Actos®, Defective Drugs

The United States Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (MDL) is scheduled to meet on December 1, 2011, in Savannah, Georgia to hear arguments on whether all federal Actos cases should be centralized, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.§ 1407, for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings, and if so, which federal district is the appropriate forum for these… Continue Reading

In Re: Bristol-Myers Squibb Environmental Contamination Litigation

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in Bristol-Myers Squibb, Environmental Contamination

This lawsuit consists of hundreds of plaintiffs that have lived or worked for an extended period of time in close proximity to the 90-acre Bristol-Myers Squibb New Brunswick pharmaceutical plant (the “BMS Site”). See New Jersey Judiciary official website. The BMS Site has been an active pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing facility since it began… Continue Reading

YAZ®, Yasmin® and Ocella® – How to Determine Where a Case Should be Heard

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in Defective Drugs, Yaz® Yasmin® and Ocella®

YAZ®, Yasmin® and Ocella® are the subject of mass tort litigation treatment in the state courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and MDL treatment in the federal courts, Southern District of Illinois. In many cases, based on the state of residence of the plaintiff, plaintiff’s counsel must make a determination as to which forum would be best for the plaintiff’s case. There are numerous factors that must be weighed in making this determination.

Courts in the United States Have Consolidated NuvaRing® Lawsuits on Both the State and Federal Levels

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in Medical Devices, NuvaRing®

As we have discussed in previous posts, pending lawsuits against the manufacturers of NuvaRing®, state that the birth control product has led to severe side-effects such as: heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (also known as DVT or blood clots), internal organ damage, myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism.

New Jersey State Courts Consider Granting Mass Tort Designation to YAZ®, Yasmin® and Ocella® Cases

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in Defective Drugs, Yaz® Yasmin® and Ocella®

As we have discussed in previous posts, studies have shown that the ingredients contained in YAZ®, Yasmin® and Ocella® have been linked to various forms of severe side-effects. Reportedly, these side-effects include: heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (also known as DVT or blood clots), internal organ damage (including gallbladder damage), myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism. Recently, a large number of YAZ®, Yasmin® and Ocella® cases have been designated as Mass Tort or Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) cases.

Court Dismisses Class Action Claims in NuvaRing® Litigation

By Craig S. Hilliard on Posted in Medical Devices, NuvaRing®

In a recent blog post, it was reported that NuvaRing® plaintiffs had filed a master consolidated complaint in order to supplement the complaints in the individual NuvaRing® litigation cases. On May 19, 2009, the Court dismissed the class action claims in the Master Consolidated Complaint. The Court noted that such claims are usually not appropriate for personal injury lawsuits based on pharmaceuticals.