According to an order issued on September 11 by U.S. District Judge Richard Story presiding over all Ethicon physiomesh cases, the discovery deadlines have been extended for two and a half months; this will push the start of the first bellwether trial date until the end of 2019 or early 2020.
The initial discovery pool concerning the transvaginal mesh complications was expected to be finalized by December 2018, but that selection would now be delayed until mid-February 2019. Each side has been ordered to submit a proposal regarding the manner of the trial, order of the selection of plaintiffs and specific timing of trials earliest by mid-July 2019. The court will consider challenges to the admissibility of expert witness testimony and dispositive motions by 2019 end.
Ethicon Pelvic Mesh lawsuits claiming design defect complications and failure to warn allegations are centralized as a part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2327; In Re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation) overlooked by U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin in the Southern District of West Virginia.
