Update on Similac Settlement Over Infant Formula Contamination To Be Discussed With MDL Judge

Lawyers involved in the federal litigation over contaminated Abbott Laboratories infant formula will meet today, to discuss a proposed Similac settlement agreement that seeks to resolve claims filed by families who say their babies were poisoned, injured and even killed after being fed products tainted with dangerous bacteria.

In February 2022, Abbott issued a massive Alimentum, Elecare and Similac recall, following the discovery that powdered formula products manufactured at a Michigan facility were contaminated with Salmonella Newport and Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, which can be dangerous and life-threatening infections.

At least two infant deaths and hundreds of illnesses were reported by parents who fed the contaminated baby formula to their children, and subsequent investigations have revealed Abbott ignored industry safety standards and best practices at its facility for years, endangering infants for the sake of profits.

As a result, Abbott Laboratories now faces more than 100 Similac recall lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system, which have centralized before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly in the Northern District of Illinois for coordinated pretrial proceedings and settlement discussions.

In June, the parties announced they had reached a confidential Similac recall lawsuit settlement agreement (PDF) with the help of a Special Master who assisted in negotiations. However, there have been no details released about the settlement, except that it would resolve all personal injury claims linked to the recalled formula.

The parties are scheduled to meet today for a case management conference, and intend  to update the Court on the status of the settlement and litigation as a whole, according to a joint status report (PDF) submitted on September 13.

The report indicates the parties held another hearing in late August, during which Abbott attorneys, the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC), and individuals objecting to the proposed settlement, met to discuss a proposed docket control order that will govern the future management of cases for claimants who do not wish to participate in the Similac recall settlement.

The next status conference will be scheduled for sometime in mid-November, the status report indicates.

Similac and Enfamil NEC Lawsuits Are Not Resolved by Today’s Meeting

The proposed settlement agreement only relates to those Similac infant formula lawsuits linked to the recall. It does not resolve hundreds of other  lawsuits still pending against Abbott over the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) linked to Similac and Enfamil infant formula products.

NEC is a life-threatening injury, which can occur when harmful bacteria breaches the walls of the intestines, causing portions of the tissue to become inflamed or die. The condition often results in the need for emergency surgery while the baby is still in the NICU, and many infants diagnosed with NEC infections do not survive.

Although Similac and Enfamil formula have been promoted as safe and effective for decades, there has been increasing evidence in recent years that these cow’s milk-based products dramatically increase the risk of NEC for premature infants. However, these lawsuits allege that the companies not only withheld information about this risk, but actively promoted use of their products for preemies, even though breast milk is a much safer alternative.

Last month, a St. Louis jury ordered Abbott to pay an Illinois mother $495 million for brain damage suffered by her infant daughter, who developed NEC after being fed Similac infant formula.

While that trial was held at the state court level, the majority of Similac and Enfamil lawsuits are being pursued by U.S. families in the federal court system, where an infant formula MDL (multidistrict litigation) was established in 2022, centralizing the NEC injury claims before U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, also in the Northern District of Illinois, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

As part of the management of the litigation, Judge Pallmeyer has established a “bellwether” program, where a group of 12 NEC lawsuits brought against the two infant formula manufacturers are going through case-specific discovery, and the first federal NEC infant formula lawsuit bellwether trial is expected to begin on May 5, 2025.