Judge Allows New Ozempic, Wegovy Lawsuits To Be Directly Filed in Federal MDL

The U.S. District Judge recently appointed to take over the pretrial management for all federally filed lawsuits over the side effects of Ozempic, Wegovy and similar GLP-1 drugs, has approved a streamlined process for families to directly file new failure to warn claims against manufacturers the blockbuster diabetes and weight loss medications, which have been linked to reports of stomach paralysis, bowel obstruction and other injuries.

The litigation involves claims brought against manufacturers of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Trulicity and other glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) drugs, which have become some of the most widely used prescription medications on the market in the U.S. in recent years, given benefits promoting weight loss.

Ozempic, Wegovy Lawsuits Continue to Be Filed

One such complaint (PDF), typical of many of the claims, was filed by Gregory Mann on Monday, that Novo Nordisk failed to disclose that use of Ozempic may leave him with severe and debilitating stomach problems.

“As a result of using Ozempic, Plaintiff was caused to suffer from gastroparesis and gastrointestinal effects and their sequelae, which resulted in, for example, severe weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea,” the West Virginia man’s lawsuit states. “As a result of using Ozempic, Plaintiff was caused to undergo a gastric emptying study which found delayed emptying.”

While the medications have been promoted as safe and effective, Mann joins more than 100 other consumers now pursuing a Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits or Mounjaro lawsuits, claiming the drug makers placed a desire for profits before the health and safety of consumers, by minimizing information about the severity of gastrointestinal problems and the long-term risks associated with the medications.

With some estimates indicating that nearly 2% of the U.S. population has been prescribed one of the GLP-1 medications, either for diabetes treatment or weight loss, it was widely expected that the litigation will become a major mass tort in the coming months.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in the complaints, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established coordinated pretrial proceedings for all GLP-1 lawsuits earlier this year, transferring complaints filed throughout the federal court system to U.S. District Judge Gene E. K. Pratter in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. However, Judge Pratter passed away of May 17, and the litigation was just recently reassigned to District Judge Karen S. Marston.

Last month, Judge Marston met with lawyers involved in the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) for the first time, to get a grasp of the litigation and where it stood, in order to begin moving the litigation forward once again.

Direct Filing Approved for Ozempic, Wegovy Lawsuits

To help avoid delays associated with transferring new lawsuits from U.S. District Courts nationwide into the MDL, Judge Marston issued a case management order (PDF) on July 14, authorizing the direct filing of new lawsuits on behalf of individuals nationwide in her court.

In complex product liability lawsuits, where large numbers of individuals are pursuing similar claims and allegations, it is common for the Court to approve a Master and Short Form Complaint, allowing plaintiffs to file future lawsuits through an abbreviated process, where they all adopt the same relevant allegations. This streamlined process allows for easy cataloging, filing and sorting of massive numbers of complaints, which can then be used to determine which claims could potentially serve as test cases in early trials. These “bellwether” trials allow the parties to gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the litigation.

On the same day direct filing was authorized, Judge Marston also filed a separate order requiring the use of Plaintiff Fact Sheets (PDF), which each plaintiff, past or future, will be required to file.

Every plaintiff who has already filed a GLP-1 lawsuit will have 45 days to submit a Plaintiff Fact Sheet. Those who file in the future will also have the same amount of time to submit their fact sheets after filing a lawsuit. The details collected from these Plaintiff Fact Sheets will be used to help construct the Master and Short Form Complaints.

Ozempic, Wegovy Lawsuit Science Day Scheduled

To help educate the court on complex issues that will arise during the litigation and pretrial motions, Judge Marston also issued a court order (PDF) this week, rescheduling a “Science Day” hearing for September 4. Judge Pratter had originally scheduled the Science Day hearing for May, but it was never held due to her passing.

Such proceedings typically involve non-adversarial presentations by expert witnesses or parties, which are intended to review issues and concepts that will come up during the proceedings. The presentations are not part of the official record in the case, or subject to cross examination. However, information presented may guide the Court in any future rulings or motions about evidence to be presented in the Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro lawsuits, including decisions about which expert witness testimony may be presented to juries.

It is expected that  Judge Marson will continue with Judge Pratter’s bellwether program by working with plaintiffs and defendants to determine what Ozempic lawsuits are representative of the greater litigation, and then sending them through case-specific fact discovery before scheduling them for the first bellwether trials.

Following coordinated discovery and any early bellwether cases, if the parties are unable to negotiate settlements or another resolution for the litigation, Judge Marston may later remand each claim back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for trial.