PSC: No 'Special Reasons' Preclude Ill. Law from Governing MDL

SAN FRANCISCO - Plaintiffs proposing that Illinois law govern pre-trial proceedings in the federal Bextra/Celebrex MDL have asserted that Pfizer Inc. and other defendants are attempting an end run around binding authority in suggesting that the MDL presents a "special" exception to the choice-of-law analysis. In Re: Bextra and Celebrex Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1699 (N.D. Calif.).

The Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, in an April 17 supplemental brief in support of its motion to compel production of documents and privilege logs in accordance with Illinois' "control group test," claims that the MDL court "must put itself …