Judge Joseph R. Goodwin Will Preside Over "Double-Dose" Digitek Pill Cases Pursuant To MDL Litigation Order

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

On August 13, 2008 the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) issued an order creating the Digitek products liability multidistrict litigation, In Re: Digitek Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1968, JPMDL. Further, the JPMDL assigned the Digitek multidistrict litigation, or MDL, to Judge Joseph R. Goodwin, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

As you may recall, in late April 2008 the FDA announced that Digitek (digoxin tablets) manufactured by Actavis Totowa LLC at its Little Falls, New Jersey plant was the subject of a nationwide Class I recall because of the possibility that some tablets were manufactured such that they contained twice the approved level of active ingredient.

Furthermore, on August 1, 2008 Actavis Totowa LLC announced a recall of all generic drugs manufactured at its Little Falls plant, apparently due to a lack of good manufacturing practices (GMP) and/or a lack of quality control at this particular New Jersey facilty.

At the time of the JPMDL hearing in late July 2008 concerning the issue of whether a federal court Digitek MDL was necessary, there were at least 60 lawsuits which had been filed against Actavis Totowa, LLC and Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as well as numerous other corporate entities related to Acatavis and Mylan.

In the August 2008 Transfer Order for the Digitek MDL, Judge John G. Heyburn II, chairman of the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, wrote:

On the basis of the papers filed and the hearing session held, we find that the actions in this litigation involve common questions of fact, and centralization… in the Southern District of West Virginia will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation. All actions share factual questions relating to the manufacture and sale by defendants of allegedly adulterated Digitek, which was recalled in April 2008.

Since July 2008 additional Digitek lawsuits have been filed in federal courts and various state courts around the country, and a great number more Digitek personal injury and wrongful death case filings are expected in the months to come.