Stryker settles OtisMed beef for $80m
December 8, 2014 by Brad Perriello
Stryker agreed to pony up $80 million to settle a federal beef over its OtisMed subsidiary, after the company and its former CEO pleaded guilty to distributing knee replacement surgery cutting guides without FDA clearance, the company and prosecutors said today.
Stryker agreed to pay $76.6 million plus interest to settle the whistleblower lawsuit, in which OtisMed and former CEO Charlie Chi pleaded guilty, according to the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office. OtisMed also agreed not to participate in federal healthcare programs for 20 years, according to a press release. Read more
Bard battles move to consolidate pelvic mesh cases
December 10, 2014 by Brad Perriello
C.R. Bard is fighting a bid by the plaintiffs in a raft of product liability lawsuits to have the 185 cases tried together.
Judge Joseph Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for Southern West Virginia is supervising the MDL involving thousands of the lawsuits filed over Bard’s pelvic mesh devices for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. Goodwin earlier ordered each side in the litigation to select 100 cases for simultaneous “waves” of preparation. Read more
Palmaz Scientific sues law firms
December 8, 2014 by Brad Perriello
Palmaz Scientific sued a pair of law firms that once represented it, alleging that they conspired to conceal 1 of the firms’ liability in an arbitration dispute with a former Palmaz limited partner, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 23 in a Texas state court, alleges that the law firms – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Baker Botts – and former Akin Gump attorney Cecil Schenker concealed the fact that Akin Gump was partially liable for damages in an arbitration case with Christopher Boyle, a former limited partner in a Palmaz Scientific subsidiary. Read more
No new trials for ex-ArthroCare CEO, CFO
December 8, 2014 by Brad Perriello
There will not be any new trials for 2 former ArthroCare executives, a federal judge in Texas ruled Dec. 4.
Former ArthroCare CEO Michael Baker and CFO Michael Gluk were convicted last June of running a scheme to defraud investors of more than $750 million; Baker was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Gluk drew a 10-year term. Read more
Ex-Heart Tronics-Signalife exec draws 17-year sentence
December 9, 2014 by Mark Hollmer
A federal judge hit former Heart Tronics/Signalife outside legal counsel Mitchell Stein with a 17-year prison sentence for illegally inflating share prices for the heart monitor device maker he once worked for.
The U.S. Justice Dept.’s Criminal Division and the U.S. attorney’s office for southern Florida, which prosecuted the case, announced the sentencing. Read more
