Plaintiffs File Petition to Consolidate Ephedra Injury Lawsuits

WASHINGTON - Plaintiffs in 13 cases naming supplement makers Metabolife and Rexall Sundown as defendants filed a petition with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) requesting the establishment of a federal docket in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio for ephedra-related injury lawsuits. In re: Ephedra Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1598 (JPML).

The plaintiffs' Jan. 7 motion for multidistrict transfer pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 asked the JPML to appoint U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith as the presiding judge due to her experience with litigation involving ephedra-related injury claims and complex litigation.