Order Raises Question: Did Bextra and Celebrex Cases Settle?
A federal judge’s order is leading to speculation that Pfizer has quietly settled several of 3,000 pending cases claiming injuries from the painkillers Bextra and Celebrex.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco ordered a law firm handling 250 of those cases to submit detailed information to determine which cases are suitable for trial, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). But the order did not apply to law firms handling any of the other cases.
Bextra is no longer on the market but Celebrex is still being sold.
At a conference on Friday Breyer said about one-third of the pending cases had been dismissed because of a ruling he made on Celebrex dosage, the story says. He said the court had been advised of settlement discussions but he did not go into specifics.
Breyer’s order only applied to cases handled by Weitz & Luxenberg. The New York City law firm had contended Pfizer’s motion for additional proof information was a burdensome request designed to bully it into settling.
