Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Pinnacle hip prosthetics, has asked that pending bellwether trials be put on hold while it appeals the recent $497.6 million verdict awarded in March of this year.
J&J’s attorneys filed post-trial motions and have indicated that depending on the outcome of those motions an appeal may be filed in the Fifth Circuit on a number of issues they believe will effect how the rest of the cases are tried. It is their position that no additional trials should be held until the issues are addressed by the court of appeals or the MDL will be “at risk of becoming a costly exercise in inefficiency for all involved.”
Mark Lanier, the attorney for the plaintiffs in the March trial stated that, “[t]his is a futile attempt at delay that should be dead on arrival.”
The next trial was set to begin in September and there are more than 8,000 cases currently pending in the MDL.
