NuvaRing Litigation

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Introduction

NuvaRing is a prescription contraceptive device used by women throughout the United States. The individual plaintiffs in this matter claim that use of NuvaRing caused them injuries. They have filed suit in several state and federal courts alleging that the manufacturer of NuvaRing failed to adequately warn of the risks associated with the use of the product, and/or that the NuvaRing product is otherwise defective and unreasonably dangerous. There are over 575 cases at present which have been consolidated into this action.

Procedural History

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the NuvaRing cases on August 22, 2008, and transferred the matter to this Court to conduct pretrial discovery for all of the cases [doc 1]. An initial case management order was entered on August 27, 2008 [doc 7] and an initial case conference was held on October 2, 2008. Plaintiffs’ liaison counsel, executive committee, and steering committee were designated on October 8, 2008 [doc 24]. The parties are presently concluding written discovery and conducting depositions. Selected cases have been chosen by the parties to conduct bellwether trials. The trial dates for these cases has yet to be determined. Status conferences are held regularly to address ongoing issues regarding discovery.

Orders

This page contains the Case Management Orders and selected procedural and substantive orders. It is not a complete inventory of decisions, and these electronic versions are not official documents of records. The official records are those contained in the Clerk of Court’s official Docket.

Contacts

Clerk's Office

United States District Court
Eastern District of Missouri
111 South 10th Street, Suite 3.300
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314)244-7900

Case Management Team
Andrea Luisetti (314) 244-7933 (team leader)
Lisa Holwitt (314) 244-7935
Lisa Kresko (314) 244-7936
MDL Coordinator
Dave Braun (314) 244-7938

Chambers of U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel

Courtroom 10-South
111 South 10th Street
Suite 10.182
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314)244-7430

Judicial Assisant: Brian Crow
Court reporter: Shannon White (314) 244-7966

Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee / Lead Counsel:

Paul D. Rheingold
RHEINGOLD AND VALET
113 East 37th Street
New York, NY 10016
(212) 684-1880
Fax: (212) 689-8156

Steven B. Blau
BLAU AND BROWN, LLC
54 West 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
(212) 725-7272
Fax: (212) 488-4848
Email: sbblaw@msn.com

Roger C. Denton
SCHLICHTER AND BOGARD
100 S. Fourth Street, Suite 900
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 621-6115
Fax: (314) 621-7151
Email: rdenton@uselaws.com

Kristine K. Kraft
SCHLICHTER AND BOGARD
100 S. Fourth Street, Suite 900
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 621-6115
Fax: (314) 621-7151
Email: kkraft@uselaws.com

Hunter Shkolnik
RHEINGOLD AND VALET
113 East 37th Street
New York, NY 10016
(212) 684-1880
Fax: (212) 689-8156
Email: hshkolnik@rheingoldlaw.com

Plaintiff’s Liaison Counsel:

Kristine K. Kraft
SCHLICHTER AND BOGARD
100 S. Fourth Street, Suite 900
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 621-6115
Fax: (314) 621-7151
Email: kkraft@uselaws.com

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee:

Alejandro Alvarez
ALVAREZ LAW FIRM
355 Palermo Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33134
(350) 444-7675
Fax: (305) 444-0075
Email: alex@floridatrialteam.com

Carmen S. Scott
MOTLEY RICE LLC
28 Bridgeside Boulevard
P.O. Box 1792
Mount Pleasant, SC 29465
(843) 216-9000
Fax: (843) 216-9430
Email: cscott@motleyrice.com

Juba L. Hamil
DEAKLE AND SHOLTIS
P.O. Box 1031
Mobile, AL 36633
(251) 432-6020
Fax: (251) 432-6071
Email: jhamil@dshfirm.com

Andrew J. D’Arcy
D'ARCY AND JOHNSON, P.C.
333 E. Jimmie Leeds Road, Suite 7
Galloway, NJ 08205
(609) 748-3700
Fax: (609) 748-3400
Email: adarcy@darcyjohnsonday.com

Gregory N. McEwen
MCEWEN LAW FIRM, LTD.
5850 Blackshire Path
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076
(651) 224-3833
Fax: (651) 223-5790
Email: gmcewen@mcewenlaw.com

Eric Roberson
FERRER, POIROT, AND WANSBROUGH
2603 Oak Lawn, Suite 300
Dallas, TX 75219
(214) 985-6750
Fax: (866) 513-0115
Email: eroberson@lawyerworks.com

Yvonne Flaherty
LOCKRIDGE GRINDAL NAUEN, P.L.L.P.
100 Washington Avenue S., Suite 2200
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 339-6900
Fax: (612) 339-0981
Email: ymflaherty@locklaw.com

Richard J. Arsenault
NEBLETT, BEARD & ARSENAULT
P.O. Box 1190
Alexandria, LA 71309
(318) 487-9874
Fax: (318) 561-2592
Email: rarsenault@nbalawfirm.com

Michael K. Johnson
GOLDENBERG & JOHNSON, PLLC
33 South Sixth Street, Suite 4530
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 335-9961
Fax: (612) 339-8168

Mark A. Tate
TATE LAW GROUP, LLC
P.O. Box 9060
Savannah, GA 31412
(912) 234-3030
Fax: (912) 234-9700
marktate@tatelawgroup.com

Lead Counsel for Defendants:

Melissa A. Geist
REED SMITH, LLP
136 Main Street, Suite 250
Princeton Forrestal Village
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 514-5978
Fax: (609) 951-0824
Email: mgeist@reedsmith.com

Sonja S. Weissman
REED SMITH, LLP
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 2400
Oakland, CA 94612-3572
(510) 466-6821
Fax: (510) 273-8832
Email: sweissman@reedsmith.com

Barbara R. Binis
REED AND SMITH
1650 Market Street
2500 One Liberty Place
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7301
(215) 851-8100

Thomas J. Yoo
REED SMITH LLP
355 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 2900
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 457-8000
Fax: (213) 457-8080
Email: tyoo@reedsmith.com

Dan H. Ball
BRYAN CAVE LLP
211 N. Broadway, Suite 3600
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 259-2000
Fax: (314) 259-2020
Email: dball@bryancave.com

Hearings and Conferences

This calendar provides only the upcoming hearings and status conferences. It does not include other case management deadlines. For most hearings and status conferences, a call-in number is established (and sent out approximately one week before the hearing or conference) to allow telephone participation.

• July 13, 2011 - Status Conference in Courtroom 10 at 10:30 a.m.

Filing Tips

Revised May 2009 – Please Review New Requirements

The Orders in this case set the rules for filing matters in this case. The Local Rules apply unless changed by a specific order. The following tips are meant to assist counsel, but are not a complete summary of the rules for filing. Please read all Case Management and Procedural Orders carefully.

• Please note that as of May 21, 2009 docket #1321 the filing rules for this case have changed as follows:
  

  For all cases, all documents filed with the court are to be filed in the main 4:06MD1811 case. In addition, pleadings (as defined in Rule 7(a), Fed. R. Civ. P.) and any motions or other documents directed to pleadings – for example, motions to dismiss, motions to remand, motions to amend, motions for summary judgment, or any briefs or exhibits related or responding to such motions – are to be filed in both the main 4:06MD1811 case and the individual civil case(s) to which the filing relates. Other items – such as documents relating to discovery or scheduling issues – are not to be filed in the individual civil cases.

• Notice of Depositions are filed only in the main MDL case and no other discovery documents shall be filed.
• The Clerk’s office has provided instructions for service of process of foreign defendants. Please follow these instructions and if you need further assistance, call the Clerk’s office.
• All counsel and all parties are listed in the main MDL case, so all counsel will get notices of anything filed in that case. If things are filed only in an individual case, only counsel who appear on the docket sheet of that case will receive notices. The court does not send mail notices, so only counsel who have provided an electronic entry of appearance and email address receive notices.
• The CM/ECF system provides an option for “spreading” entries. It defaults to the “no” position. If you change this to “yes”, your document will be filed in all 277 cases and all counsel of record will receive 277 emails notifying them of your filing. Please do not do this unless instructed by the court.

Reports of Counsel