BSX faces $50m gender suit | Medtech legal news for the week of March 23, 2015

Sales reps level $50m sex discrimination suit against Boston Scientific

March 19, 2015 by Brad Perriello

Two female employees of Boston Scientific’s neuromodulation business filed a $50 million class-action lawsuit alleging sex discrimination, alleging that the company fosters a culture in which men feel free to harass and discriminate against women.

The plaintiffs are Denise Fretter, a regional business manager in Ohio, and former Nevada territory manager Maria Korsgaard. Fretter and Korsgaard are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, back pay, front pay, compensatory, nominal and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs on behalf of all female sales reps for Boston Scientific’s neuromodulation business, according to court documents. Read more

Zimmer chooses new bellwethers in NexGen knee implant MDL

March 17, 2015 by Brad Perriello

Zimmer yesterday chose another set of lawsuits to serve as bellwether cases in the multi-district litigation over its NexGen knee implants.

More than 5,900 NexGen product liability lawsuits have been consolidated under Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois. Read more

Boston Scientific executive's killer gets 17 years

March 18, 2015 by Brad Perriello

Lyle “Ty” Hoffman, the confessed murderer of Boston Scientificexecutive Kelly Phillips, was reportedly sentenced to serve a 17-year prison sentence and another 8 years of supervised release.

Hoffman and Phillips had a 15-year romantic relationship and were partners in a Minneapolis bar called Lush. But the relationship ended and Hoffman, who was managing the bar, was fired and evicted from Phillips’ home in Minneapolis after Phillips discovered discrepancies between the bar’s books and its bank account, according to the reports. Read more

Federal appeals court upholds Smith & Nephew's $85m win over Arthrex

March 18, 2015 by Brad Perriello

A federal appeals court today upheld an $85 million win for Smith & Nephew over orthopedics rival Arthrex in an 11-year-old patent infringement dispute over anchors used in shoulder surgeries.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a ruling by Judge Michael Mosman of the U.S. District Court for Oregon in the 2nd trial of a case Smith & Nephew brought against Arthrex back in 2004. Read more

Feds extend Biomet's deferred prosecution deal for another year

March 18, 2015 by Brad Perriello

Biomet said yesterday that the U.S. Justice Dept. extended by a year the deferred prosecution agreement reached in 2012 over alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Biomet paid $22 million in March 2012 to settle the case with the Justice Dept. and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Read more

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