Opinion
January 17, 2007.
ORTHO-MCNEIL PHARMACEUTICAL, INC., JOHNSON & JOHNSON, and JOHNSON & JOHNSON PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C., LEE J. HOLLIS, ESQ., THE HOLLIS LAW FIRM PA, Attorneys for Plaintiff,
CHARLES F. PREUSS (State Bar No. 45783), BRENDA N. BUONAIUTO (State Bar No. 173919), DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP, San Francisco, California, Attorneys for Defendants.
JUDITH GREEN, DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP, BRENDA N. BUONAIUTO, Attorneys for Defendants.
JOINT REQUEST TO VACATE INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE AND RELATED DEADLINES
On March 1, 2006, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ("JPML") created MDL 1742, In re: Ortho Evra Products Liability Litigation, ruling that all federal actions involving allegations of injury or death from use of the prescription drug Ortho Evra® be centralized for pre-trial purposes in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, before the Honorable David A. Katz, Case Number 1:06-CV-40000-DAK. To date, over 300 cases have been transferred to MDL 1742, and transfers of additional "tag-along" actions are pending. Defendants requested that this action be deemed a "tag-along" and transferred to MDL No. 1742. On December 14, 2006, the JPML issued Conditional Transfer Order 27 ("CTO-27"), conditionally transferring this action to the MDL. Plaintiff did not oppose and consents to that transfer.
The parties therefore respectfully request that, pending CTO-27 becoming effective and to achieve the judicial economies that underlie 28 U.S.C. Section 1407 (Multi-District Litigation Procedures), this Court vacate the initial Case Management Conference, set for February 23, 2007. For these same reasons, the parties further request that the Court relieve the parties of the obligations to submit ADR Certifications on February 2, 2007 and Case Management Statements, Initial Disclosures, and Rule 26(f) Reports on February 16, 2007.