Ocella Lawyer Appointed to Leadership Role in Yasmin MDL

The judge presiding over the federal Yaz and Yasmin litigation has appointed an additional lead counsel for the defendants in the MDL, who will oversee the interests of the makers of Ocella, a generic version of Yasmin birth control. 

According to an Order issued last month, Ocella lawyer Joseph P. Thomas, of the law firm Ulmer & Berne, LLP, has been appointed as Defendants’ Co-Lead Counsel. Thomas will represent the interests of Barr Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals, performing discovery and other pretrial functions on behalf of the generic drug makers in lawsuits over Ocella that are included in the Yaz and Yasmin MDL.

Ocella birth control is a form of generic Yasmin, which uses a newer “fourth” generation progestin, known as drospirnone, in combination with ethinyl estradiol to prevent pregnancy. However, side effects of Ocella and Yasmin have been linked to an increased risk of blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and gallbladder problems. Similar problems have been linked to the use of Yaz birth control, which is a newer version of Yasmin that also contains drospirenone.

As of October, at least 3,700 people have filed a Yaz lawsuit, Yasmin lawsuit or Ocella lawsuit in federal courts throughout the country. While Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which developed Yaz and Yasmin, is named in all of the complaints, many of the cases that involved use of the branded generic Ocella also include Barr and Teva as defendants.

All of the federal lawsuits are currently consolidated for pretrial proceedings before Chief Judge David R. Herndon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation. The complaints all involve similar allegations that the drug makers failed to adequately research the medications or warn about the potential risk of injury associated with use of the birth control pills.

The increased risk of Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella health problems appears to be linked to the use of drospirenone. According to complaints filed, drospirenone can increase blood potassium levels, causing a condition known as hyperkalemia, which is known to cause heart problems and other issues.

As the lead attorney for Ocella, Thomas will initiate, coordinate and conduct all pretrial discovery on behalf of Barr and Teva in cases that are consolidated in the MDL. Thomas will also file any of the necessary discovery requests, motions or subpoenas for the generic drug makers, examine witnesses and introduce evidence at hearings and perform other necessary functions for Barr and Teva.

At a status conference last week, the Court was advised that a group of cases have been selected by plaintiffs and defendants in the MDL for early discovery in preparation for the first bellwether Yaz trials, which are scheduled to begin later this year.

According to a scheduling order issued by Judge Herndon last month, the pool of bellwether cases will undergo case-specific discovery between now and March 2011. The cases will then be narrowed down and eventually lead to three trials that will involve issues that are representative of issues that will be presented throughout other cases in the Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella litigation.

Bellwether trials are often helpful in allowing the parties to gauge how jurors are likely to respond to evidence and testimony that will be similar to what is presented throughout other cases in the litigation. Judge Herndon has expressed an interest in selecting representative cases to serve as potential bellwether trials, in hopes that the process will facilitate a potential Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella settlement agreement or other resolution for the litigation.

The first trial, which is scheduled to begin September 12, 2011, will be a case involving a pulmonary embolism from Yaz or Yasmin, followed by a gallbladder lawsuit that has been set for trial to begin on January 9, 2012. A third bellwether trial will begin on April 2, 2012, involving a case where the plaintiff alleges that she suffered either a pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis after using the the birth control pills.

Although the pretrial proceedings in the federal MDL are moving forward to trial, potential new lawsuits are still being filed by Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella lawyers for women who have experienced health problems after using one of the birth control pills.

As new lawsuits are filed in federal courts throughout the United States, they will be consolidated before Judge Herndon in the MDL for pretrial proceedings. If a settlement or other resolution is not reached following the bellwether trials, the Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella lawsuits would likely be remanded back to the district courts where they were originally filed for individual trials across the country.