Digitek Suits Consolidated to West Virginia
On August 29, 2008, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered that all federal lawsuits related to defective, double strength Digitek (also known as Digoxin) be moved to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The action comes after an April 2008 recall on all lots of the prescription drug after discovery that some tablets twice as thick as normal contained double the appropriate amount of medication.
At least 60 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts across the country. Defendants include Actavis Totowa, LLC, Actavis, Inc., Actavis Elizabeth, LLC, Actavis US, Mylan, Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mylan Laboratories, Inc., Mylan Bertek Pharmaceuticals and UDL Laboratories, Inc.
Seventeen of the pending federal suits have been filed in the Southern and Northern District of West Virginia. The other pending cases come from Cleveland, Ohio; New Orleans, La.; Chicago, Ill.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Ft. Myers, Fla.; and Kansas City, Mo. At the time of the transfer order, potentially another 50 “related actions” had been filed.
A motion has been filed regarding overdose cases filed in West Virginia state courts too. If granted, the cases would be consolidated under one state court judge.
Under federal court procedures, the purposes of transferring all cases to one judge for pretrial rulings eliminates duplicative discovery and inconsistent pretrial rulings. Unlike a “class action,” where all suit are tried together, the Multi District Litigation (MDL) relates to pre-trial actions only. If a resolution or settlement is not reached, the cases go back to their respective districts for trial.
Judge John G. Heyburn II, chairman of the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation wrote of the Digitek cases: “On the basis of the papers filed and the hearing session held, we find that the actions in this litigation involve common questions of fact, and centralization in the Southern District of West Virginia will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation. All actions share factual questions relating to the manufacture and sale by defendants of allegedly adulterated Digitek, which was recalled in April 2008.”
The combined cases will be assigned to Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, who the order described as an “experienced MDL transferee judge with a docket that will allow him to devote the needed attention to these cases.”
Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has its principal place of business in Morgantown, W.Va. It is a leader in developing, manufacturing and marketing generic pharmaceutical products.
The drug is used to treat atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and heart failure. Ingestion of a toxic amount of the drug can result in visual changes, palpitations, irregular pulse, cold sweats and digitalis toxicity (which results from a build up of the drug in the body).