Appeals court puts Gore on the hook for $1B in damages to Bard
January 13, 2015 by Brad Perriello
A federal appeals court today handed a major win to C.R. Bard, upholding a judgment of willful infringement against W.L. Gore & Assoc. that tacks on an extra $205 million to the $854 million Gore already owed Bard– taking Gore’s tab for infringement of a Bard stent graft patent to more than $1 billion.
It’s the latest development in a decades-long war between Gore and Bard over stent graft technology. Gore alleged that 1 of its engineers, Peter Cooper, invented a key claim in the patent in the early 1970s. Read more
Bard loses bid to delay pelvic mesh cases over judge's comments
January 13, 2015 by Brad Perriello
A federal judge last week denied a bid by C.R. Bard to delay a raft of product liability lawsuits filed over its pelvic mesh products, shooting down Bard’s contention that the judge’s prior comments prejudiced the jury pool.
Judge Joseph Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia is supervising a multi-district litigation involving thousands of the lawsuits filed over Bard’s pelvic mesh devices for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Last month Goodwin’s comments during a hearing, urging Bard to settle the mesh lawsuits, drew widespread publicity. Read more
Johnson & Johnson: Women asked to lie for pelvic mesh payoffs
January 15, 2015 by Brad Perriello
Johnson & Johnson wants the federal judge overseeing thousands of pelvic mesh lawsuits to force the plaintiffs to prove they have a valid claim, alleging a campaign of telephone solicitation aimed at generating more cases.
“Women across the nation are receiving unsolicited phone calls from strangers who are seeking – or, more disturbingly, already know – their very personal medical information. These individuals, who on some occasions may call as often as 50 times a month, try to entice each woman into filing a lawsuit, oftentimes disregarding whether she has an injury or even had a mesh implant at all. In an apparent effort to legitimize their message or engender the woman’s trust, some callers have gone so far as to say that they are associated with the FDA or with Johnson & Johnson,” the company wrote in a court filing. Read more
BD notches partial win in $352m anti-trust loss to Retractable Technologies
January 16, 2015 by Brad Perriello
Becton Dickinson & Co. is still on the hook for the more than $352 million it owes Retractable Technologies in their war over safety syringe technology, but a federal judge ruled this week that BD can delay notifying end users about its false advertising for pre-filled syringes.
Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas issued his final ruling in the case yesterday, finding that “BD attempted to monopolize the safety syringe market” and “committed false advertising under the Lanham Act,” according to court documents. Davis ordered the Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based medical device maker to pony up more than $352.2 million in damages, including more than $11.7 million in attorneys’ fees, plus pre- and post-judgment interest and costs, according to the documents. Read more