Depuy Orthopedics has filed a brief in opposition to consolidating all DePuy ASR hip lawsuits in an MDL. The MDL petition was filed on September 3rd in order for all DePuy hip cases to be heard by one judge. An MDL allows for all discovery to be consolidated and centralized.
According to the opposition brief, DePuy doesn’t object to the consolidation of the lawsuits for purposes of DePuy settlement discussions. However, the hip manufacturer objects to the cases being transferred to Judge Susan D. Wigenton in New Jersey.
DePuy’s objection to Judge Wigenton concerns her involvement in the ongoing Zimmer Durom Cup hip implant lawsuits. DePuy believes that if Judge Wigenton had both the Zimmer and DePuy defective hip cases, it would be unfair to the different hip manufacturers and may cause confusion and prejudice to the defense.
However, consolidation of both hip cases before a single judge may provide the parties with the knowledge and experience necessary to make difficult decisions in the MDLs.