Thousands of women allege that Taxotere, a breast cancer chemotherapy drug, caused them to suffer from permanent alopecia, or hair loss. Lawsuits have been filed against Sanofi-Avetis, US, LLC (“Sanofi”), the manufacturer of Taxotere. The majority of cases are consolidated in a Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL”) in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana before Judge Jane Triche-Milazzo.
What is the status of the litigation?
Unfortunately, no plaintiffs have prevailed against Sanofi. Two cases went to trial and both resulted in defense verdicts. Numerous other cases were chosen for trial, but they were all dismissed prior to trial. Last year, Judge Triche- Milazzo started remanding cases back to their home courts for trials.
For the past four years, Defendants have been urging the court to enter a case management order known as a Lone Pine Order. Finally, the court entered the order.
What is a Lone Pine Order?
A Lone Pine Order is a case management tool requiring plaintiffs to supply proof of their case prior to discovery. Discovery is the process of exchanging documents and taking depositions. Normally, it is through the discovery process that plaintiffs gather the information necessary to prove their case. Oftentimes, Lone Pine Orders require plaintiffs produce costly expert reports and other documentation.
As such, requiring proof of a case prior to discovery is premature. Generally, Lone Pine Orders are extremely burdensome on plaintiffs.
What does the Taxotere Lone Pine Order mandate?
The Taxotere Lone Pine Order requires plaintiffs to do four things:
- Certify a willingness to proceed in the lawsuit
- Provide updated medical authorizations and fact sheets
- Submit expert declarations diagnosing drug induced alopecia
- Participate in further discovery
Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the requirements are too burdensome to meet. Specifically, that submitting expert declarations will be expensive. Also, plaintiffs’ counsel told the court that a Lone Pine Order would stall settlement discussions. However, Judge Triche- Milazzo entered the order anyway. Therefore, plaintiffs who wish to pursue their cases must comply with the foregoing requirements in the upcoming months.
Will there be a settlement?
Settlement negotiations have been underway for some time. Magistrate Judge Michael North is overseeing the settlement negotiations. Unfortunately, the parties have been unable to agree to a settlement. However, Plaintiffs’ counsel is hopeful that the Lone Pine Order will urge a global settlement.
