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The Court heard argument on motions filed on behalf of women who claim to have suffered injuries after being implanted with vaginal mesh products for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
The plaintiffs are asking for the JPML to create separate multidistrict litigation (MDL) cases against three different transvaginal mesh manufacturers: American Medical Systems, Inc. (MDL No. 2325), Boston Scientific Corp. (MDL No. 2326) and Ethicon, Inc. (MDL No. 2327).
By pulling together lawsuits that have been filed in federal district courts across the country for pretrial proceedings, the MDLs would make the litigation more efficient, conserve judicial resources and avoid the risk of inconsistent rulings, the plaintiffs argue.
The plaintiffs also are requesting that the cases be transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and that they be supervised by Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, who currently is overseeing the MDL against another transvaginal mesh manufacturer, C.R. Bard, Inc. (In re Avaulta Pelvic Support Systems Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2187)
I expect a decision by 2/15/12.
