Deadlines Leading to First Valsartan Bellwether Trial on Sept. 8, 2025 Outlined by Special Master

The first Valsartan lawsuit to go to trial will be a claim brought by an Alabama man diagnosed with liver cancer after exposure to recalled versions of the blood pressure drug.

A Special Master overseeing hundreds of Valsartan cancer lawsuits has issued an order laying out the schedule for the first bellwether trial, setting a series of deadlines between now and when the case is slated to go before a federal jury on September 8, 2025.

There are currently more than 1,300 former users of recalled versions of Valsartan pursuing product liability lawsuits in the federal court system, each involving similar allegations that changes to the generic drug manufacturing process resulted in cancer-causing chemicals contaminating certain versions of the blood pressure medication, resulting in high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and other known carcinogens being found in pills distributed between early 2015 and mid-2018.

The litigation emerged after a series of Valsartan recalls were issued in July 2018, resulting in lawsuits being filed by former users diagnosed with various different forms of cancer, including colorectal cancer, intestinal cancer, liver cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer and others linked to the chemical contaminants.

Due to common questions of fact and law raised in complaints brought throughout the federal court system after the recall, all Valsartan lawsuits are currently consolidated in the District of New Jersey before U.S. District Judge Renee M. Bumb, who has been presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings, which have focused on preparing several groups of representative claims for early bellwether trials.

While Valsartan settlements have been reached to resolve claims filed against some generic drug manufacturers, others have failed to reach agreements to resolve large numbers of claims. Therefore, Judge Bumb has called for a series of “bellwether” trials to be held, to help the parties gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

The first Valsartan bellwether trial over the recalled blood pressure drug is currently expected to begin in September 2025, involving a claim brought by Gaston J. Roberts, an Alabama man who developed liver cancer after using recalled versions of the drug.

Valsartan Bellwether Trial Schedule

On February 26 a court order (PDF) was issued by the Special Master assigned to the litigation, retired Judge Thomas Vanaskie, setting a schedule for preparing the Roberts case for trial. It includes a list of deadlines in the Valsartan lawsuit, for key steps in readying the case to go before a jury.

Judge Vanaskie indicates that all expert discovery in the case must be concluded by May 8, 2025, with a deadline for summary judgment motions to be filed by May 22, and deadlines for any motions in limine by July 21.

There will be a final pretrial conference set for August 28, with the trial beginning on September 8.

While the outcome of this Valsartan lawsuit bellwether trial will not have any binding impact on other remaining claims, it will be closely watched and could help the remaining parties reach Valsartan cancer settlements.

The Court has previously directed the parties to prepare a second wave of Valsartan bellwether trials, which could go before juries shortly after the conclusion of the Roberts case later this year.

Following the bellwether trial process, if additional agreements are not reached to resolve large numbers of claims, it is expected that Judge Bumb may begin remanding them back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for individual trial dates throughout the federal court system in the coming years.

Valsartan lawyers involved in the case met with Judge Bumb for a case management conference on Monday, March 3, 2025.  The next case management conference is scheduled for March 28, 2025.