The United States Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (JPML) met on Thursday, December 1, 2011, in Savannah, Georgia, to hear arguments regarding whether all federal Actos cases should be consolidated into multi-district (MDL). Recent studies allegedly show that diabetics taking Actos may be at an increased risk of developing bladder cancer. The JPML has yet to issue a ruling, but a decision is expected early next year. Considering that the attorneys for manufacturer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, have recently agreed that the cases should be consolidated, it would come as a surprise if the JPML denied Plaintiff’s motion.

The real question for the JPML is where to centralize the cases. The filing Plaintiff requested that the cases be consolidated in the Southern District of Illinois before Judge G. Patrick Murphy, while Takeda Pharmaceuticals has requested that the cases be consolidated in either the Northern District of Illinois or the Western District of Louisiana.

As we have previously discussed, granting MDL treatment will consolidate all federal Actos lawsuits filed across the U.S. into one centralized district. This consolidation will streamline the pretrial discovery process, allowing the parties to avoid duplicative discovery and inconsistent rulings from different judges.

If you feel you have experienced adverse side-effects from taking Actos, you can contact Stark & Stark and speak to one of the Mass Tort/Pharmaceutical Litigation attorneys, free of charge, who can help assess any claims that you might have against the manufacturers of Actos.