Yaz Settlement Promised to be Requested After Bellwether Trials

More than 6,300 lawsuits are currently pending in the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits have combined to form a multidistrict litigation before Judge Herndon. In October 2010, a Case Management Order was established in the federal MDL, scheduling three Yaz and Yasmin bellwether trials, which are representative cases that will be used to gauge how juries will respond to testimony and evidence that is likely to be introduced throughout other cases in the litigation. The first trial was scheduled to begin in September 2011, involving a Yaz pulmonary embolism lawsuit, followed by a second

trial to begin in January 2012, involving a gallbladder lawsuit, with a third trial scheduled to begin in April 2012, involving a veinus thromboembolism, such as a deep vein thrombosis lawsuit. However, in April 2011, the trial dates were continued and it is unlikely the first trial will begin before early 2012.

While cases in the MDL are handled in a manner similar to how a Yaz or Yasmin class action lawsuit would be managed during pretrial litigation, each claim remains an individual case. If the litigation does not resolve during pretrial proceedings, the individual lawsuits will be returned back to the federal district court where they were filed for a trial. At the state court level, litigation over Yaz and Yasmin has also been centralized in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where the cases will be managed in a manner similar to the MDL. The New Jersey Yaz litigation is centralized before Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Bergen County Superior Court. The Pennsylvania Yaz litigation is centralized before Judge Sandra Mazer Moss in Philadelphia.

Both Yaz and Yasmin are made with a type of progestin called drospirenone, making them different from many other oral contraceptives. Drospirenone can elevate the body’s potassium levels, which can lead to a condition called hyperkalemia in certain patients, which may result in potentially serious heart and health problems. In May, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Yaz, Yasmin, and other contraceptives made with drospirenone were being monitored because of fears they might increase a woman’s risk of developing a blood clot more than birth control pills made with a different type of progestin.