Opinion
Docket No. 1355, C.A. No. 5:01-343
August 9, 2002
TRANSFER ORDER
Before the Panel is a motion brought, pursuant to Rule 7.4, R.P.J.P.M.L., 199 F.R.D. 425, 435-36 (2001), by plaintiffs in a Southern District of Mississippi action (Robinson) to vacate the Panel's order conditionally transferring the action to the Eastern District of Louisiana for inclusion in the centralized pretrial proceedings occurring there in this docket before Judge Eldon E. Fallon. Defendants Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc. (Janssen) and Johnson Johnson Co. support transfer of Robinson.
On the basis of the papers filed and hearing session held, the Panel finds that Robinson involves common questions of fact with actions in this litigation previously transferred to the Eastern District of Louisiana, and that transfer of Robinson to that district for inclusion in the coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings occurring there will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation. The Panel is persuaded that transfer of Robinson is appropriate for reasons expressed by the Panel in its original order directing centralization in this docket. The Panel held that the Eastern District of Louisiana was the proper Section 1407 forum for actions brought by persons allegedly injured by Janssen's Propulsid, a heartburn medication that allegedly can cause severe, disabling and/or deadly medical conditions including irregular heartbeats, ventricular fibrillation and heart disease. See In re Propulsid, Products Liability Litigation, MDL-1355, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11651 (J.P.M.L. Aug. 7, 2000).
Plaintiffs premised much of their opposition to transfer on their contention that federal jurisdiction was lacking in Robinson. We note that their motion to remand to state court was denied by the court in the Southern District of Mississippi on June 25, 2002.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, Ethel Robinson, et al. v. Johnson Johnson, et al., S.D. Mississippi, C.A. No. 5:01-343, is transferred to the Eastern District of Louisiana and, with the consent of that court, assigned to the Honorable Eldon E. Fallon for inclusion in the coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings occurring there in this docket.