What’s New in Dangerous Product Lawsuits in October 2025

September brought several major developments in dangerous product lawsuits, with important updates across multiple litigations. From a ruling that could affect thousands of Depo-Provera cases to new movement in the video game addiction lawsuits, here’s what to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead.

Oral Arguments Key to Future of Depo-Provera Lawsuits Held

The Depo-Provera lawsuits, filed over claims that the popular birth control shot is tied to brain tumors, have entered a key phase.

After Pfizer filed its motion for summary judgment in August, plaintiffs filed their motion in opposition last month. Plaintiffs claim that Pfizer ignored warnings for decades that its drug could be tied to the development of brain tumors.

While Pfizer has said that these lawsuits should not be able to move forward since the FDA rejected a meningioma label update for Depo, plaintiffs argue that the proposed update was so broad that the agency had to deny it. They also say the FDA invited Pfizer to resubmit its label with changes to address the issues.

Oral arguments took place on Sept. 29, and a decision from the judge overseeing the cases is now pending. More than 1,200 Depo-Provera lawsuits are currently active in federal court.

Settlement Negotiations Delay Progress in Paraquat Lawsuits

For months, we have been awaiting the finalized details of a settlement that could resolve the thousands of paraquat lawsuits filed in federal court.

Little progress has been made in these cases as settlement negotiations continue. The judge overseeing the litigation has repeatedly extended a pause on proceedings to allow both sides to focus on finalizing an agreement.

Now, the judge has vacated a key bellwether trial that was scheduled for this month and pushed the pause on work for these cases into January.

She said in her order that this move will “allow the settlement process to unfold.”

Video Game Addiction Lawsuits Once Again Seeking Coordination

An effort is once again underway to group video game addiction lawsuits into an MDL. This would allow multiple lawsuits to be coordinated before one judge and go through the legal process together in a streamlined fashion.

The motion to transfer, which was filed last week, seeks to consolidate only lawsuits involving Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft.

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation previously rejected a motion to consolidate video game addiction cases into an MDL, citing the involvement of too many different defendants and products.

Whether this latest, more focused push will succeed remains uncertain, but it marks the next step in ongoing efforts to streamline these complex cases.