Tentative Trial Date Set in 1st Bellwether Zofran Birth Defect Action

BOSTON — A date has been tentatively set for the first bellwether trial in the federal multidistrict litigation for lawsuits alleging birth defects caused by GlaxoSmithKline’s anti-nausea drug Zofran, according to a recent docket entry.

On Feb. 24, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts tentatively scheduled opening arguments to begin on Oct. 18 in Rodriguez v. GlaxoSmithKline LLC, No. 15-13762, and predicted that the trial would last four weeks.

Trial in the Rodriguez action had initially been set for May 5, 2020, but Judge Saylor indefinitely postponed proceedings in March 2020 …