Judge Rowland said defendants were either premature in seeking dismissal, or that plaintiffs had sufficiently pled their hair relaxer lawsuit claims.
Thousands of new hair relaxer lawsuits have been filed over the past few months, claiming manufacturers knew their products put women at risk of cancer.
FDA decision to ban chemical straighteners that emit formaldehyde comes as thousands of hair relaxer lawsuits are being pursued by women diagnosed with uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and other injuries
A number of issues regarding the discovery process in hair relaxer kit lawsuits have been resolved by the parties, allowing the exchange of information about the link to cancer and other injuries to move forward
The hair relaxer class action lawsuit alleges that manufacturers failed to warn users about the risk of cancer, seeking refunds and medical monitoring costs.
Streamlined process for filing hair relaxer lawsuits in the MDL court will allow plaintiffs to use an abbreviated form, where allegations are adopted from a longer Master Complaint
A small group of hair relaxer lawsuits will be selected for discovery and prepared for a series of early bellwether trials to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony
Manufacturers challenge allegations raised in hundreds of hair relaxer lawsuits brought by women diagnosed with uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and other injuries, as the Court rejected an attempt to bifurcate discovery
Plaintiffs oppose the plan, which will cause unnecessary delays and many women will die from cancer caused by hair relaxer while waiting for the general causation discovery to be complete
The U.S. District Judge presiding over all federal hair relaxer lawsuits has also issued protocols governing the discovery process, in a likely lead-up to bellwether test trial cases.
