Defendant Opposes Bellwether Pool Reduction in Stryker MDL

Defendant Opposes Bellwether Pool Reduction in Stryker MDL

Introduction

The defendant involved in the Stryker LFIT V40 Femoral Head MDL submitted a brief on September 6, requesting Massachusetts federal judge to deny the plaintiffs' motion, which states to reduce the bellwether pool from 18 to 8 cases. The defendant claims that the parties have already agreed to limited discovery depositions in 18 cases and there is no good reason to alter the number of bellwethers at this stage of the MDL.

Stryker faces hundreds of product liability lawsuits linked to the complications of its LFIT hip implant. Lawsuits filed against the manufacturer have been centralized for coordinated pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts presided over by Judge Indira Talwani. The first bellwether trial has been scheduled to commence in September 2019.