Leadership Positions Assigned in DePuy Multidistrict Litigation

Those tracking DePuy hip replacement lawsuits will be interested to know that on January 26, 2011, Judge David A. Katz issued an order assigning hip replacement lawyers to various leadership positions. Numerous DePuy lawsuits were consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation case (MDL) in federal court, and the case was sent to federal court in the Northern District of Ohio under Judge Katz.

MDL is like a class action in that it simplifies pretrial procedures, such as what information is made available to the parties. Unlike a class action, it allows individual plaintiffs to maintain their original cases against the company. The benefit is that individuals can receive the full compensation they deserve in their hip replacement lawsuits instead of what they would receive in a class action lawsuit. The amount of compensation apportioned in a class action is the same for all the plaintiffs, which isn’t acceptable for DePuy victims. DePuy’s faulty implants damaged people in different ways, so MDL allows them better outcomes.

The leadership positions include those on a Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, a Science Committee, a Discovery Committee, and a Law and Motions Committee. The Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee will appoint chairpersons for the others, and the MDL will also have “Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel” and “Plaintiffs’ State Liaison Counsel.” More subcommittees will be created as necessary with Judge Katz’s approval.

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