In Brief: Breast implant litigation
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Breast implant litigation: Louisiana state court in New Orleans postpones until Jan. 7 Phase II of the first class action silicone breast implant trial against Dow Chemical while the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati decides on a writ of mandamus submitted last summer by Dow. The writ seeks reversal of a ruling by Eastern Michigan District Court Judge Denise Hood to allow eight cases in Louisiana to be completed in that state while the remaining 1,792 pending cases against Dow Corning shareholders Dow Chemical and Corning are transferred to the Michigan court, where all breast implant suits filed against Dow Corning are being examined under bankruptcy proceedings initiated in May 1995. The writ also seeks clarification from the court on whether findings of the Louisiana court can apply to those cases not yet underway in Michigan. A May 8 decision by the Cincinnati appeals court ordered Hood to consolidate in Michigan all outstanding cases against Dow Chemical. On Nov. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a plaintiffs' petition for a writ of certiorari requesting that the high court review the May 8 ruling...