A pretrial order to establish the first Zantac trial has been issued by a Californian State Court Judge who is overseeing the Ranitidine Products Cases JCCP NO. 5150.
The judge has confirmed the first four Zantac bellwether trials, with the first taking place on February 13, 2023, in Oakland.
The lawsuits allege that drug makers Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) failed to warn about the link between Zantac and cancer. Thousands of claimants have welcomed the news.
As per the pretrial order from the judge, a Sargon hearing will take place on January 25, 2023, where the legal teams of both sides will present their expert witnesses. The court will consider the expert opinions and decide if both sides have used valid methodologies in their scientific opinions. If the judge approves the methodologies, then the Zantac cases in the JCCP can proceed to trial and experts would be allowed to present evidence and testimony which would determine if Zantac causes cancer.
The first bellwether trial will begin on February 13, 2023, if plaintiffs’ experts pass muster in Sargon. Generally, the likelihood of the cases will end in settlement agreements if the plaintiffs win a jury verdict.
The second bellwether trial is scheduled on May 1, 2023, followed by a third trial scheduled on August 7, 2023. Bellwether trials will continue until the court appoints a mediator to negotiate resolutions or unless a global settlement has been reached.
