Opinion
(MDL No. 1348) 00 Civ. 2843 (LAK)
March 14, 2003
PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 129
(Motion for Class Certification in Lepley (n/k/a Carter) v. Pfizer, Inc.)
A motion for class certification was pending in Maryland state court when the above-captioned case was removed to federal court and subsequently transferred to this court by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The motion seeks certification of a class of all persons who purchased and/or ingested Rezulin in Maryland and two medical monitoring and two refund subclasses. Lepley (n/k/a Carter) v. Pfizer Inc., (D.Md. No. 24-C-01-005171).
The classes plaintiff seeks to certify, and the claims pleaded, do not differ materially from the classes defined and the claims for which class treatment unsuccessfully was sought by the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee. The medical monitoring subclasses plaintiff seeks to certify would be composed of "all users of Rezulin in Maryland, who presently are asymptomatic and have not manifested physical injury." "[A] class definition that calls for a medical conclusion based on plaintiff-specific information is an improper basis for maintaining a class action." Moreover, individual issues would predominate on plaintiff's proposed refund subclasses. Thus, for the reasons set forth in this Court's September 12, 2002 order denying Plaintiffs' Steering Committee's motion for class certification, plaintiff's motion is denied.
In re Rezulin Prods. Liab. Litig., 210 F.R.D. 61 (S.D.N.Y. 2002).
Mem. Law in Support Plaintiff's Motion for Class Certification 2.
In re Rezulin Prods. Liab. Litig., 210 F.R.D. at 74 (internal citations omitted).
See id. at 68-69.
SO ORDERED.