Pfizer Defendants Propose Federal Privilege Law to Guide MDL Discovery

SAN FRANCISCO - Defendants in the federal Bextra/Celebrex MDL have asked the court to apply federal privilege law to issues of pre-trial discovery, arguing that exposing discovery to the laws of multiple jurisdictions will substantially delay the litigation. In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699 (N.D. Calif.).

In a Feb. 23 response brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia Corp. and G.D. Searle specifically oppose the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee's proposal that the court apply certain transferor states' 'control group' tests when designating as …