Baby Formula Defendants Seek Summary Judgment as Bellwether Trial Nears
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With a key trial just a few months away, defendants are seeking summary judgment for the hundreds of baby formula lawsuits pending in federal court. If granted, summary judgement would resolve the lawsuits in the favor of baby formula manufacturers without a trial.
Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson, who have been combating claims that some of their formulas may cause serious and potentially fatal intestinal issues in premature infants, filed the motion last Friday.
The recently filed documents cited new information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the cause of NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis). The NIH report said that evidence supports the hypothesis that NEC may be caused by a lack of human milk rather than exposure to formula.
As part of their argument, the defendants also disparaged the expertise that plaintiffs’ claims hinge on, claiming that one expert’s testimony is based on a “made-for-litigation methodology.”
Baby Formula Lawsuits Already Seeing Success in State Courts
If granted, summary judgment could be devastating for plaintiffs and resolve the litigation before it goes to trial. But it is unclear how likely that outcome is, as some baby formula plaintiffs already had significant success in state court over these claims.
The mother of a premature infant who died from NEC after being fed formula was awarded $60 million by an Illinois jury last March. Additionally, a St. Louis jury awarded $495 million in July to the family of an infant that developed NEC.
The only NEC trial won by the defendants last year came in November.
The first bellwether trial from the MDL, which serves as a test case to inform the direction of the litigation, will begin on May 5.
Baby Formula Lawsuits Claim Popular Brands Caused Devastating Health Issues
There are more than 600 lawsuits pending in federal court over claims that certain cow’s milk formulas can cause NEC when fed to premature infants.
According to Cleveland Clinic, NEC is a condition in premature infants that may cause a hole to form in their intestines. This can allow bacteria to leak into other parts of the body and cause serious infections.
NEC can be fatal and also leave survivors with serious long-term health issues.
Popular formula providers Mead Johnson and Abbott Laboratories are the main defendants in the litigation over certain versions of their Enfamil and Similac formulas designed for premature infants.
Lawsuits that have gone to trial so far included both infants who suffered serious health issues due to NEC as well as an infant who died from the condition.