Taxotere Hair Loss Cases Finalized For Upcoming Bellwether

Taxotere Hair Loss Cases Finalized For Upcoming Bellwether

Introduction

Taxotere hair loss lawsuits move forward in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana for upcoming six bellwether trials which include 18 additional lawsuits nominated by the parties for the fourth, fifth and sixth trials. The cases would undergo Phase 1 discovery between November 1, 2018, and May 1, 2019.

The order issued on November 8 stated, "for the selections on November 1, 2018, and May 1, 2019, the Court expects the parties to select plaintiffs whose claims are representative of the characteristics of claims in the litigation overall. Unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties or ordered by the Court, the venue for each selected case must be proper in a United States District Court over which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has jurisdiction". According to a recent Taxotere status conference, the parties are required to nominate primary and alternate plaintiffs for the second trial earliest by January 4, 2019. The first bellwether trial would involve the case filed on behalf of a plaintiff, with two alternate cases filed by Louisiana women to go forward if the first case gets resolved or dismissed. The trial is expected to convene on May 13, 2019, to provide insight into how the jury would rule in similar hair loss lawsuits.

The multidistrict litigation ( MDL No. 2740; In Re: Taxotere (Docetaxel) Products Liability Litigation) is overlooked by Chief Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana where about 10,000 lawsuits are pending against the chemotherapy drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC over allegations of permanent hair loss (alopecia).