Fen-Phen e-Resource

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, LLP Ordered To Pay $10.8M for Violating Duty of Loyalty

The Associated Press

A jury ordered a law firm to pay at least $10.8 million for dropping three small bottlers from a dispute with giant Poland Spring Water Co. in order to bring a more lucrative class action suit. The jury unanimously found Wednesday that lawyers from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, a Seattle law firm, violated their duty of loyalty to three small businesses that in 2003 were close to settling a claim with Nestle Waters North America, Poland Spring's owner.

Wyeth says fen-phen cases may be "wrapped up" soon

The chief financial officer of Wyeth on Thursday said he was hopeful tens of thousands of remaining product-liability lawsuits involving the company's recalled "fen-phen" diet drugs may be "wrapped up" within the next 12 to 24 months.

F.D.A. Official Chides Agency Over Treatment

A federal drug safety official said Monday that her career had been sidetracked and her reputation tarnished after complaints from a drug maker led the Food and Drug Administration to suspend her from reviewing a heartworm medicine for dogs.

Wyeth wins in Philadelphia diet drug trial

Wyeth said on Monday a jury ruled in favor of the drugmaker in a trial in which three people claimed they had been harmed by using the company's withdrawn diet drug.

Outspoken Diet Drug Plaintiffs' Advocates - Napoli Kaiser Bern, Join Motion By Class Counsel To Address Rampant Fraud By AHP Settlement Trust

Napoli Kaiser Bern the New York based law firm has become involved in a recent motion which alleges fraud and anti-claimant bias by the cardiologists who designed and administered the AHP Settlement Trust claims screening and audit programs.

Judge Owes An Explanation

We expect our judges - even semiretired ones - to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and former Boone Circuit Judge Jay Bamberger fails to meet that expectation in a controversy over his getting paid as a director of a nonprofit group he helped create while he was still behind the bench.

Dual Fen-Phen Cases Dismissed for Lack of Doctors' Testimony

The coordinating judge of Philadelphia's Complex Litigation Center has dismissed two more fen-phen cases in which the physicians who originally prescribed the plaintiffs diet drugs were not deposed and are currently unavailable to testify.

Judge Postpones Liability Phase of Two Fen Phen Lawsuits

A Philadelphia Judge has postponed the liability phase of two fen phen lawsuits until July 25, 2005, New Jersey-based Wyeth said on May 27 in a statement. The parties requested the second phase of the trial be postponed until July 25 to permit Wyeth and the plaintiff's attorneys to pursue discussions of a possible resolution of similar fen phen cases.

Houston Law Firms Win Fen-Phen Verdict

Williams Bailey Law Firm, L.L.P., and Blizzard, McCarthy & Nabers, LLP, announced today a $200 million jury verdict delivered in Philadelphia on behalf of two women who suffered heart-valve damage as a result of taking the diet drug "fen-phen." The women will apply the award to future medical treatments for the drug's on-going side effects.

Wyeth Says Jury Awards Diet-Drug Users $200 Million

A Pennsylvania jury decided that two former users of Wyeth's drugs taken as part of the fen-phen diet combination deserved $200 million in damages for heart problems caused by the medicine.

Jurors in state court in Philadelphia on May 24 found that Wyeth's weight-loss medicine scarred Margie Paul's and Elaine Karician's hearts and that they were entitled to $100 million each in damages, Wyeth said in a statement. Jurors must still decide whether Wyeth is liable for the women's damages.

Wyeth looks to settle diet drug lawsuits

Wyeth Co. on Friday said a Philadelphia judge allowed it to postpone the liability phase of two lawsuits over a diet drug it once produced, giving the pharmaceutical firm time to consider a larger settlement of similar cases.
The parties requested the second phase of the trial be postponed until July 25 to permit Wyeth and plaintiffs' attorneys to pursue discussions of a possible resolution of other diet drug cases. These discussions are taking place as part of the settlement process underway with lawyers representing thousands of plaintiffs nationwide.

Philadelphia Diet Drug Trial Finishes First Phase

Wyeth announced today that the cases of Jolene Johnson v. Wyeth, Louise Miller v. Wyeth and Nancy McCullough v. Wyeth in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas will continue to the second, liability phase following today's jury decision in the first phase of the trial. During the first part of this bifurcated (two-phase) trial, the jury assessed damages of $280,000 for Ms. McCullough; $260,000 for Ms. Johnson; and $200,000 for Ms. Miller. The next phase of the trial will determine if Wyeth is liable and will be required to pay those damages. It is tentatively scheduled to begin on May 24.

Wyeth will get new liability trial in fen-phen case

A Philadelphia court set aside a jury verdict that was reached against Wyeth over its diet drugs last November, and the judge overseeing the case ordered a new liability trial.

Lucy Hansen, Joyce Jensen and Mildred Hill alleged they suffered heart damage for taking Wyeth's Pondimin and Redux pills, which made up half of the fen-phen diet drug. Wyeth took the diet drug off the market in September 1997.