Pradaxa MDL Judge Fines Boehringer Nearly $1 Million for Failing to Produce, Preserve Evidence

BENTON, Ill. — The judge overseeing the federal Pradaxa multidistrict litigation has imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions on Boehringer Ingelheim, saying the company’s failure to produce or preserve thousands of documents sought by plaintiffs was “egregious” and in bad faith.

In a 51-page order issued Dec. 9, Chief Judge David R. Herndon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois said Boehringer Ingelheim International GMBH and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. made misrepresentations to the court, “causing it to believe that each defendant had a litigation hold, company-wide, on all relevant personnel and all relevant documentation and …