Calif. Federal Judge Stays DePuy Pinnacle Hip Case Pending Possible Transfer to MDL

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge has stayed a DePuy hip implant case pending possible transfer of the action to the Pinnacle multidistrict litigation, explaining that allowing the MDL court to decide whether a California defendant was fraudulently joined will avoid unnecessary duplicative litigation.

In an April 23 order, Judge Samuel Conti of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California added that a stay of this case eliminates the risk of inconsistent rulings, either among the district courts, between the district courts and the MDL, or both.

Six California residents sued DePuy Orthopaedics Inc, Johnson & …