Valsartan Liver Cancer Lawsuit Selected for First Jury Trial in MDL

First bellwether trial in the valsartan MDL will involve claims brought by an Alabama man diagnosed with liver cancer, which is the most commonly reported injury caused by the recalled blood pressure drug.

An Alabama man’s valsartan lawsuit will be the first to go before a jury in the U.S., involving allegations that he developed liver cancer following exposure to chemical byproducts in generic versions of the blood pressure drug that were recalled in late 2018.

Liver cancer is one of the most commonly reported injuries raised in the litigation, which currently includes more than 1,200 product liability lawsuits brought throughout the federal court system, each involving claims that high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and other cancer-causing chemicals contaminated the pills after changes were made to the generic manufacturing process.

Since 2019, all valsartan cancer lawsuits have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, where they are currently being overseen by U.S. District Judge Renee M. Bumb for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

To help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that may be repeated throughout the litigation, the court previously selected a group of 28 claims that have been prepared for a series of bellwether trials, and the parties recently agreed that a valsartan liver cancer lawsuit filed by Gaston J. Roberts, Jr. should be the first case to go before a jury.

In addition to liver cancer, other lawsuits involve allegations that contaminated valsartan pills caused former users to develop colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, esophageal cancer and various other malignancies.

Last week, the parties and court met to discuss the selection of a valsartan injury lawsuit for the first bellwether trial, after the court canceled a previously scheduled trial involving claims brought by a third party payor seeking reimbursement for money spent on contaminated versions of the blood pressure pill.

In a case management order (PDF) issued on October 22 by retired Judge Thomas Vanaskie, who is serving as the Special Master, the court confirmed that the Roberts claim will be the first federal bellwether trial, and identified another five cases that were randomly selected for subsequent trials.

The early valsartan bellwether trials will include the following claims:

• Gaston Roberts, Jr. – Liver Cancer Lawsuit
• Richard Ramirez – Stomach Cancer Lawsuit
• Nabil Hanna – Stomach Cancer Lawsuit
• Brad Pizzolato – Prostate Cancer Lawsuit
• Michael Svebek – Colorectal Cancer Lawsuit
• Eugene Pate – Colorectal Cancer Lawsuit

However, the court has not yet set individual trial dates or the order in which the bellwether claims will go before juries, other than confirming that the Roberts liver cancer claim will be first.

Plaintiffs previously urged the court to consolidate multiple plaintiffs for trial, which the manufacturers have opposed. However, in a letter to the court (PDF) sent on October 21, plaintiffs’ lawyers indicated they were willing to have that argument later in the litigation “in the interest of streamlining the process to get to the first trial sooner.”

Another case management conference will be held tomorrow, at which time the Court is expected to schedule individual trial dates, and the parties have been asked to submit proposed agendas by 5 p.m. today.

While the outcome of these bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on other remaining claims, they will be closely watched and could help the parties reach valsartan cancer settlements in other claims.

If the parties are unable to resolve the litigation following any bellwether trials held in the MDL, it is expected that Judge Bumb may begin remanding large numbers of claims for individual trial dates throughout the federal court system.