New Jersey STATE Propecia® MCL: Merck's Defense Fact Sheets Due Today, On Ten Initial "Trial Pool" Cases

As a general rule here, we only cover the various federal cases closely -- mostly because near real time electronic records are surprisingly still hard to come by, in many state courts. So this is one -- of a very infrequent set of state court updates, on the Propecia^® (alleged) sexual dysfunction side effects litigation.

While the New Jersey state court litigation is still well behind the federal counterpart, the gap may be closing just a bit. [There has been a slight delay in the federal timeline, as the able judge in Brooklyn selects a few bellwethers of his own.]

In New Jersey though, in Middlesex County court, as of today, Merck should have delivered to the plaintiffs' lawyers the first ten "bellwether" case defense fact sheets. That is, Merck should have laid out, in summary fashion, what it has been able to learn about these first ten -- so that the plaintiffs may be prepared to decide whether only some -- or all -- of the ten are appropriate bellwether models, representative of what the consolidated case group populations might actually look like.

Some may be excluded, and others substituted, but the state court bellwethers are now working their way to trial dates, in New Jersey. I still think we will see a federal trial, first -- in late 2017 -- maybe October or November of 2017, as opposed to my earlier guess of September 2017. And in New Jersey, it is still likely to be early 2018 (again, in my estimation).

From the full order, then -- the relevant bit, for today:

. . . .On or before December 9, 2016, Defendants shall provide to Plaintiffs individual attorney as identified in the Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS) and to Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel, complete Defense Fact Sheets (DFS) in the form attached hereto as Exhibit "A", along with responsive documents, for each of the ten (10) cases included in the "Trial Pool" as defined in Case Management Order No. 6.

The production of Defense Fact Sheets shall be made in the Trial Pool selection cases and their appropriate substitutions, only. . . .

Now you know -- and I sail onward beginning yet another busy Friday, in the Loop for a bit -- and then northward, by rail, for client meetings. I am still smiling at how the Universe "closed the (sublime living energy) string-theory loop" in such poetic fashion, as to Senator and Commander Glenn last evening -- and into this morning. . . .If I don't return, have a great weekend, one and all.

नमस्ते