Legal scales of justice with books

It has been a busy stretch for dangerous product lawsuits, with key updates across several litigations. From a decision that could impact thousands of Depo-Provera lawsuits to next steps for the video game addiction litigation, here is what to watch in the coming weeks.

Depo-Provera Preemption Decision Still Far Off

After oral arguments were held on Sept. 29, we are still awaiting the outcome of Pfizer’s motion for summary judgment based on federal preemption.

We may be waiting a while. Pfizer is arguing that the Depo-Provera lawsuits, which involve claims that the popular birth control shot causes brain tumors called meningiomas, should not be able to move forward.

The company bases that claim on a concept known as federal preemption, where federal law overrules state law. Pfizer says that the Food & Drug Administration rejected a label update that would have included a warning about the tumor risk.

Lawyers representing people who have filed lawsuits see the situation differently. They claim that Pfizer ignored years of warnings and that the proposed label was not adequate.

The judge overseeing these cases has now indicated that she won’t make a final decision until the FDA makes a ruling on a new label update that Pfizer submitted in June.

Another Baby Formula Lawsuit Fails

For the third straight time, Abbott has won a baby formula lawsuit bellwether trial on summary judgment. The lawsuit focused on claims that certain formulas cause severe intestinal issues in premature infants.

In the bellwether trial, the judge determined that there was no feasible alternative to the Similac formula that was fed to the infant in question.

A health care economist who served as an expert for Abbott claimed that more than 60,000 premature infants would have gone unfed from 2010 to 2022 if formulas like Similac were unavailable.

With three bellwethers failing to advance to trial and just one more remaining, the judge has ordered both sides to begin work on a second wave of bellwethers. She is pushing for an expedited discovery process that would have the first of those cases go before a jury in August 2026.

Ultra-Processed Foods Lawsuit Attempts a Comeback

We are waiting to see if the judge who oversaw the landmark ultra-processed foods lawsuit will allow it to be revived. That case had previously been dismissed in part because the judge determined that there were not yet enough facts to show that the plaintiff’s health issues had been caused by the products in question.

The plaintiff had filed a motion requesting to refile the lawsuit with changes made to address the judge’s concerns that led to dismissal.

Last month, the defendants in the case claimed that refiling the lawsuit would be “futile” since the amended claim doesn’t address all of the issues that led to dismissal.

If the lawsuit were to be reinstated, it could potentially open the door for this to grow into a larger litigation.