AngioDynamics Port Catheter Lawsuit MDL Established in Southern District of California

Presiding Judge Ohta is expected to appoint a group of AngioDynamics port catheter lawyers to leadership positions, and prepare a group of bellwether cases for early test trials over the next few years.

A panel of federal judges has established a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) for all AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide, centralizing the claims before one judge for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

There are currently more than 50 product liability lawsuits pending against AngioDynamics throughout the federal court system, each raising allegations that port catheter devices implanted for chemotherapy or other treatments were defective and unreasonably dangerous, often fracturing, migrating or causing severe infections to develop.

The AngioDynamics port catheters are implantable venous access devices that have been used over the past two decades, consisting of a port component that provides easy access for doctors to administer medications, nutrients or other fluids, as well as a catheter that carries the fluid into a patient’s bloodstream.

Although the device is designed to be left in place long-term under the skin, a growing number of lawsuits over AngioDynamics port catheters allege that the material is prone to develop microfractures, due to the use of high levels of barium sulfate in the production of the polyurethane catheter.

This can cause the structure of the AngioDynamics port catheter to fail, increasing the risk of infections, blood clots and catheter fractures, which could break off into the patients’ bloodstream, potentially damaging the heart and other organs.

The complaints raise allegations similar to those presented in hundreds of Bard PowerPort lawsuits currently pending in the federal court system, which were centralized as part of an MDL in the District of Arizona last year. However, the U.S. JPML has decided to establish the AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuit MDL before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Due to similar questions of fact and law raised in a growing number of complaints filed against AngioDynamics throughout the federal court system, a group of plaintiffs filed a motion to establish this new port catheter MDL in July 2024, indicating that these cases also should be centralized before one judge to avoid duplicative discovery into common issues in the claims, avoid conflicting pretrial decisions and promote judicial efficiency.

The U.S. JPML heard oral arguments over the motion during a recent hearing on September 26, at the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Nashville, Tennessee, to determine whether the cases should be consolidated, and if so, where.

In a transfer order (PDF) issued on October 3, the JPML announced that all current and future AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system will be centralized in the Southern District of California, with U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta appointed to shepherd the coordinated pretrial proceedings.

The panel indicated there were at least 23 AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits pending in 16 different district courts at the time the motion was filed. However, the JPML indicated that it is aware of 33 other potential actions in 19 districts, which suggests that the size and scope of the litigation is rapidly expanding.

“On the basis of the papers filed and the hearing session held, we find that these actions involve common questions of fact, and that centralization in the Southern District of California will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation,” wrote Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, acting chair of the JPML.

“All actions can be expected to share factual questions arising from allegations that defendants manufacture the catheter component of their port devices with an excessive concentration of barium sulfate, causing the material to degrade and the surface of the catheter to pit or crack,” according to the order. “As a result, plaintiffs contend, the catheters are prone to fracture and to collect fibrinous blood products, which causes perforation, infections, and blood clots, among other injuries.”

Now that the claims have been consolidated, it is likely that Judge Ohta will appoint a small group of AngioDynamics port catheter lawyers to serve in various leadership positions during the coordinated pretrial proceedings, taking certain actions on behalf of all plaintiffs pursuing a lawsuit.

The MDL judge may then direct the parties to select several representative claims to serve as potential early bellwether trial dates, which would help the parties gauge how juries are likely to respond to evidence and testimony to be repeated throughout the litigation.

Following coordinated discovery and any bellwether trials in the MDL, if the parties are unable to reach any AngioDymanics settlement agreements or another resolution on the port catheter lawsuits, Judge Ohta may remand each case back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for a future trial date. However, pretrial proceedings in the AngioDyamics port catheter MDL will likely take several years.