The first bellwether case among the baby formula lawsuits in multidistrict litigation may be just seven months away from trial.
Parties jointly submitted a bellwether trial schedule on Friday, outlining a plan and finalizing the dates for the four previously selected cases.
The first trial, Ericka Mar, as Administratrix of the Estate of RaiLee Mar v. Abbott Laboratories, is set to begin on May 5, 2025. The next three trials will follow on Aug. 11, 2025, Nov. 3, 2025 and Feb. 2, 2026.
Multidistrict litigation (MDL) Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer will need to approve these trial dates, so modifications are still possible. But, as far back as June, it was accurately estimated that the stakeholders would schedule the first trial for May 2025.
This represents significant progress in the ongoing litigation surrounding popular baby formula brands like Similac and Enfamil. Nearly 600 lawsuits are active within the MDL, with plaintiffs claiming that those formulas caused necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) when fed to premature infants.
The first three trials list Abbott Laboratories – the makers of Similac – as a defendant, with the fourth trial centered on Mead Johnson’s Enfamil.
Bellwether Outcomes Will Set Stage for Future of Baby Formula Litigation
The bellwether trials are a major step forward to resolving hundreds of active baby formula lawsuits, and early wins for plaintiffs could set the stage for an eventual settlement.
The few baby formula cases that have already gone to trial in state courts have resulted in some big wins for plaintiffs, with a jury awarding $495 million in July to the family of an infant who developed NEC after being fed Similac.
That came not long after a March verdict where an Illinois jury awarded $60 million to the mother of a baby that died after being fed Enfamil.
Mar v. Abbott Laboratories, the first bellwether case set for trial, holds similarities to those cases.
Premature infant RaiLee Mar was fed Similac formula while in the NICU, developed NEC and died shortly after. That lawsuit cites similar studies and evidence used in other baby formula lawsuits that suggest a link between premature infant consumption of cow’s milk formulas and the development of NEC.
Any questions the court has about the bellwether trial order will be discussed at an upcoming status conference.
Certain Baby Formulas Have Been Tied to Serious Health Issues for Decades
The hundreds of lawsuits regarding infants with NEC are, in part, supported by research dating back to the 1990s, which established a link between cow’s milk formulas and NEC.
NEC is a very serious condition that can cause perforation of the intestines, leading to bacterial infection and potentially deadly complications such as sepsis.
The mortality rate is as high as 50%.
Research has suggested that infants who are fed cow’s milk formula are at greater risk of developing NEC. According to the National Institute of Health, prematurity, low birth weight and formula feeding are NEC risk factors.
While only two baby formula cases have gone to trial at the state level so far, manufacturers like Abbott and Mead Johnson have yet to convince juries that their formula is not responsible for the development of NEC in some infants.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.