There have been suggestions below (from my well-informed and diligent commenters) that the state courts of New Jersey may in fact hold the first trials -- in the Propecia® sexual dysfunction products liability cases -- getting there ahead of the federal MDL. That may well be -- but the New Jersey state system doesn't put as much of the interim motion practice on its website (really only orders and decisions), so it is hard to tell, without stopping by the court house(s) -- in person. And that's something I cannot manage, geographically. So, the best updates on the state cases will be found in Merck's quarterly SEC filings (most recently, at page 22), in my opinion. [Let's see what comes out of February -- as to scheduling orders -- but not much is easily knowable beyond the SEC filings, there.]
Having said that, here is the latest New Jersey state case management order, from December 9, 2015. Of some 383 cases now pending in the state courts of New Jersey (i.e., not the federal MDL), seven were re-listed for dismissal last week -- for failure to comply with various evidence and documentary production rulings. Four of those will be dismissed with prejudice -- meaning that they cannot be refiled. Those four:
. . . .Conlon v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Docket No. L-3080-14
Horvath v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Docket No. L-2489-12
West v. Merck & Company, Docket No. L-6544-12
Park v. Merck Sharp & Doh.me Corp., Docket No. L-2298-12. . . .
We appreciate our commenters very much -- and to the extent we are able, we will offer commentary on the state proceedings, but much of that is a "black box operation", due to the lack of comprehensive online versions of the court filings. Onward!
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