Miss. Federal Judge Refuses to Reopen Discovery in Intragastric Balloon Case

GULFPORT, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge has refused to reopen discovery in a lawsuit alleging Apollo Endosurgery US Inc.’s intragastric balloon caused a life-threatening lung infection, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that she needs to obtain information as to whether the device was FDA-approved and to produce additional medical records.

In a Nov. 2 order, Judge David Bramlette of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi found the plaintiff did not provide a reasonable justification for her delay in moving to reopen discovery, explaining that the good-cause standard is not satisfied if the party “has not acted …