$745 MILLION SETTLEMENT: IN RE: BEXTRA AND CELEBREX MARKETING SALES PRACTICES AND PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION (N.D. CA.)

Tom Cartmell and other Wagstaff & Cartmell attorneys played a key role in obtaining a $745 million settlement announced on October 17, 2008, between pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc., and claimants across the United States seeking damages as a result of injuries from taking medications Bextra and Celebrex.

Wagstaff & Cartmell represents hundreds of such claimants. Tom was one of 15 lawyers appointed to the national Plaintiff’s Steering Committee (PSC) by Judge Charles R. Breyer, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in In re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699 (N.D. Cal.).

Tom took a very active role as a member of the PSC. He argued a key Daubert motion on behalf of the plaintiffs in the MDL proceeding before Judge Breyer in San Francisco. He was then one of three lawyers who were lead counsel in the first Bextra case that was set for jury trial in San Francisco in May 2008.

Days before trial was to start, after numerous rounds of negotiations, Tom and his trial team agreed to settlement terms with Pfizer resolving thousands of pending cases and which paved the way for the eventual $745 million settlement finalized in October.

The preparation and readiness of Tom and his team to take the first Bextra case to trial was a key factor leading to the $745 million settlement.

Once again, Wagstaff & Cartmell proved its reputation and ability to get results in a national mass tort case. We’re proud to serve on the front lines to bring justice to our clients,