Introduction
This multidistrict litigation currently consists of over two thousand cases pending before this Court, and additional cases are expected to be filed or transferred to this Court in the coming months. These cases all involve allegations concerning the medication Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium). Lipitor is commonly prescribed to aid in lowering cholesterol and triglycerides. The plaintiffs allege that Lipitor caused them to develop type 2 diabetes and related injuries. Pfizer denies these claims.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation determined that the Lipitor cases filed involved common questions of fact and that centralization of the Lipitor cases was appropriate. Weighing a number of factors, the Judicial Panel selected the District of South Carolina as the forum for this litigation. These cases have been assigned to the Honorable Richard M. Gergel for coordinated discovery and pretrial matters.
On January 25, 2016, the Court ordered all Plaintiffs to show cause why their claims could survive summary judgment, given the Court’s orders regarding expert testimony on causation in two bellwether cases. No Plaintiff came forward, and the Court granted summary judgment in all cases pending as of January 25, 2016.
On January 3, 2017, the Court ordered all remaining Plaintiffs to show cause why the Court should not grant summary judgment to Defendant(s). That order also applied to any new action docketed in this multidistrict litigation on or after January 3, 2017. No Plaintiff came forward, and the Court granted summary judgment in all remaining cases on February 3, 2017.
Plaintiffs filed notices of appeal on January 26, 2017 and February 8, 2017 regarding all cases subject to the Court’s orders granting summary judgment. Those cases are now on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. As of January 4, 2017, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ceased to transfer and consolidate new cases to this multidistrict litigation. Thus, at this time there are no open cases in this multidistrict litigation that are pending before this Court.