Ill. Federal Judge Severs, Transfers Claims of CerviCore Plaintiffs to Respective Districts

BENTON, Ill. — An Illinois federal judge has severed claims brought by non-Illinois residents against Howmedica Osteonics Corp. in connection with its CerviCore cervical spine device, finding the claims were misjoined because they do not arise from the same transaction or series of transactions.

In a Jan. 13 order, Judge Staci Yandle of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois transferred the claims of the non-Illinois residents to the appropriate districts on the basis that they were implanted with CerviCore and received related treatment in those districts.

CerviCore, the device at issue, is Howmedica’s experimental cervical spine …