The U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus has outlined the process for selecting cases to go to trial for several pending Bard hernia mesh cases.
According to the case management order issued earlier this month, the cases will guide the parties on how juries will respond to certain evidence that will be repeated throughout. Six cases designed to be representative of allegations went through pretrial discovery, which included three claims initially selected by each side.
On January 3, 2020, both the parties will file their respective briefs. By January 8, each side will be allowed to file a response to the other side’s proposed cases, which will be followed by an in-person status conference on January 10 for final selections and trial schedules. In case of dismissal of the three cases, replacement cases by either party will be selected. Following the selection, the parties must file any dispositive motions and Daubert challenges by January 17, 2020, with oral arguments to be scheduled at a later date.
Trials will begin on the following dates for the selected cases:
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May 11, 2020
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July 13, 2020
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September 14, 2020
The selected cases will decide the fate of the remaining lawsuits. More than 3,500 Bard hernia mesh claims are consolidated under federal multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2846; In Re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation) in the Southern District of Ohio, presided by Honorable Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., and Honorable Kimberly A. Jolson.
