Lawyers from several prominent firms have filed 80 lawsuits that allege Elmiron, used to treat a chronic bladder infection called interstitial cystitis, causes eye problems. Anticipating hundreds more cases, they are dueling over whether to coordinate an MDL in Pennsylvania before U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone or U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti in New Jersey, home to defendant Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

“We already have hundreds of cases; we’re just not filing them until we know where we’re going,” said Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik. He and Michael London of Douglas & London, who filed the initial transfer motion last month before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, are among several plaintiffs lawyers hosting a webinar later this month on the Elmiron litigation. Shkolnik’s firm, along with Levy Konigsberg, filed a court document with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation supporting Martinotti, whom he called “fair” and “even handed.” “We see a judge who both sides believes can steward this case to a resolution one way or the other quickly, and not get bogged down in the fight and minutia we see in some cases,” he said. 下载