IVC filter lawsuits are on the rise. On October 15, 2014, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”) designated the Cook IVC Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. That Court has issued multiple Case Management Plans and Case Management Orders to guide and control the MDL.
On November 25, 2014, the MDL Court issued a comprehensive Case Management Plan, which designated Plaintiffs’ leadership structure (including lead counsel, liaison counsel, Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, and Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee) and Defendants’ counsel. The MDL Court further set forth a description of the claims and defenses at issue and procedures for: pretrial pleadings and disclosures, general case discovery, bellwether selection criteria, case-specific discovery, motion practice and trial. Shortly thereafter, a form of Master Consolidated Complaint and a form of Short-Form Complaint were agreed upon and issued.