Plaintiffs Seek for Darvocet Cases to Be Centralized

Last December, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals agreed to stop selling Darvocet in the U.S. after the evidence of cardiac injuries from Darvocet reached critical mass. Darvocet lawsuits are now being filed in massive numbers. A week ago, in San Francisco, Plaintiffs' Darvocet lawyers argued that all of the federal Darvocet cases should be centralized in an MDL which is similar to, but not really, a class action lawsuit. Kristine Esposito filed a lawsuit against Xanodyne shortly after the Darvocet recall in December in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Two other plaintiffs have filed briefs in support of consolidation, but suggesting that the cases be consolidated in either the Eastern District of Louisiana or Western District of Louisiana.

More than 22 million people have used Darvocet, which was one of the 25 most commonly prescribed medications in the United States. The number of plaintiffs who have filed Darvocet lawsuits regarding Darvocet side effects, and other complications

resulting from propoxyphene products continues to grow since the major recall of the drugs last November. The expansive number of Darvocet lawsuits is making many people believe that class action or multidistrict litigation action will be taken in these cases. In multidistrict litigation, pretrial procedures will be combined with similar trials and then trials will be decided on an individual basis. In a class action lawsuit, similar trials will be consolidated and will stand trial together as to save time, assuming the trials would all have the same outcome.

The plaintiffs seek to have the cases consolidated since all of the Darvon and Darvocet suits contain similar allegations that the manufacturer failed to adequately research the side effects of Darvocet and Darvon and failed to warn doctors and patients that propoxyphene-based drugs caused heart rhythm problems that could sometimes be fatal. Xanodyne argues that the cases should be centralized in the Eastern District of Kentucky, which is where the drug maker is headquartered. They argue that the majority of witnesses and documents are located in close proximity to that court, and it is an easily accessible and centrally located district.