5th Circuit Denies Efforts to Combine Second and Third Bellwether Trial Appeals

NEW ORLEANS –– The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied efforts by eleven DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant plaintiffs who were awarded more than $1.5 billion in two separate trials to consolidate the appeals of those verdicts.

In the one-page order, the 5th Circuit allowed the consolidation of the appeals of the six plaintiffs in the third bellwether trial, but declined to include the appeals relating to the second bellwether verdict.

The plaintiffs had asked the appellate court to consolidate the appeals last month, citing “substantial legal and factual overlap” between the disputes.

In the Jan. 6 motion, the …