Infant Formula MDL Judge Orders Briefing on Pa. Plaintiffs’ Remand Motion

CHICAGO — The judge overseeing the preterm infant formula MDL docket has deferred ruling upon motions to remand filed by Pennsylvania plaintiffs and ordered supplemental briefing on the issue of whether they can bring negligence claims against in-state hospitals.

In an Aug. 22 order, Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois explained the parties have not clarified whether plaintiffs filed the requisite certificates of merit, as required by Pennsylvania law, and whether dismissal without prejudice would by itself confirm a finding of fraudulent joinder.

Plaintiffs in the MDL are parents of …