In re Chantix (Varenicline) Prods. Liab. Litig.

• Decision Date: 23 July 2012
• Docket Number: MDL No. 2092.,Master File No. 2:09–CV–2039–IPJ.
• Citation: 881 F.Supp.2d 1333
• Parties: In re CHANTIX (VARENICLINE) PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION. This Order Relates To: All Cases.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

881 F.Supp.2d 1333

In re CHANTIX (VARENICLINE) PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION. This Order Relates To: All Cases.

Master File No. 2:09–CV–2039–IPJ.

MDL No. 2092.

United States District Court,

N.D. Alabama,

Southern Division.

July 23, 2012.

Albert J. Harb, Hodges Doughty & Carson PLLC, Knoxville, TN, B. Kristian W. Rasmussen, Elizabeth Ellis Chambers, Ernest Cory, Stephen R. Hunt, Jr., G. Rick Digiorgio, Cory Watson Crowder & Degaris PC, Christopher A. Keith, Wettermark Holland & Keith LLC, Joe R. Whatley, Jr., WhatleyKallas LLC, Sara C. Hacker, Elizabeth A. Cranford, Russell Jackson Drake, Whatley Drake & Kallas LLC, F.M. Haston, III, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Michael D. Ermert, Hare Wynn Newell & Newton LLP, Samuel Fisher, Toni J. Braxton, Wiggins Childs Quinn & Pantazis LLC, Birmingham, AL Barrett W. Stetson, Law Firm of Barrett W. Stetson, Benedict James, Majd Ghanayem, Nabil Majed Nachawati, Fears Nachawati Law Firm, Linda Turley, Patrick J. Wigle, Turley Law Firm PC, Dallas, TX, Bradlyn James Cole, James C. Ferrell, R.G. Taylor II, PC & Associates, Robert A. Schwartz, Bailey & Gaylen, W. Mark Lanier, The Lanier Law Firm, Houston, TX, Cale H. Conley, Richard A. Griggs, Conley Griggs LLP, Neal Kirkland Pope, Pope McGlamry Kilpatrick Morrison & Norwood LLP, Atlanta, GA, Christiaan A. Marcum, David L. Suggs, H. Blair Hahn, Elizabeth M. Burke, Richardson Patrick Westbrook & Brickman LLC, Mount Pleasant, SC, Christian C. Creed, Creed & Creed, Kevin D. Alexander, Guerriero & Guerriero, Monroe, LA, Clinton Fisher, Hanly Conroy Bierstein Sheridan Fisher & Hayes LLP, Jayne Conroy, Hanly Conroy Bierstein Sheridan LLP, Brian Goldstein, Cellino & Barnes PC, Catherine T. Heacox, Richard D. Meadow, The Lanier Law Firm, David S. Ratner, Jennifer Gonzales-Frisbie, Koren L. Cohen, Morelli Ratner PC, James Shaughnessy, Victoria Jennings Maniatis, Milberg LLP, Kirk E. Chapman Milberg LLP New York, NY Cynthia K. Garrett, Attorney at Law, Sidney Allen Martin, II, Modovsky Law Office, Tulsa, OK, Daniel Paul Ruggiero, Ruggiero & Haas, Portsmouth, OH, Elizabeth E. Deemer, Levicoff Silko & Deemer PC, Matthew R. Doebler, Pribanic & Pribanic LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, Gary L. Wilson, Kate E. Jaycox, Tara D. Sutton, Holly Dolejsi, Megan J. McKenzie, Troy Fredric Tatting, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, LLP, Charles S. Zimmerman, Zimmerman Reed PLLP, Stacy K. Hauer, Johnson Becker PLLC, Minneapolis, MN, Herbert J. Friedman, Friedman Law Offices, David A. Dudley, Baylor, Evnen Law Firm, Lincoln, NE, John M. Bailey, Law Offices of John M. Bailey, Saul C. Belz, Glankler Brown PLLC, Memphis, TN, John J. Carey, Tiffany Yiatras, Carey, Danis & Lowe, Evan D. Buxner, The Buxner Law Firm, Julie Devine, Myron Zwibelman, Roy A. Walther, III, Walther/ Zwibelman Law Associates, St. Louis, MO, John W. deGravelles, deGravelles, Palmintier, Holthaus & Fruge, LLP, Philip Bohrer, Bohrer Law Firm LLC, Vincent J. DeSalvo, Baton Rouge, LA, John Evan Eickmeyer, Michael D. Axline, Miller Axline and Sawyer, Sacramento, CA, Kenneth J. Ignozzi, Dyer Garofalo Mann & Schultz LPA, Richard B. Reiling, Richard Reiling, Esq., Dayton, OH, Lee L. Coleman, Hughes & Coleman, Bowling Green, KY, Marc David Grossman, Randi Alyson Kassan, Sanders Viener Grossman, LLP, Mineola, NY, Matthew Lopez, Ramon Rossi Lopez, Lopez McHugh LLP, Newport Beach, CA, Scott D. Levensten, The Levensten Law Firm PC, Carrie R. Capouellez, Lopez McHugh LLP, Philadelphia, PA, Shane Allen Romines, Copeland & Romines Law Office, PLLC, Corbin, KY, Sheila P. Hiestand, Bubalo, Hiestand & Rotman, PLC, Lawrence L. Jones, II, Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC, Louisville, KY, Trent B. Miracle, Simons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC, Altoon, IL, William M. Audet, Susanne N. Scovern, Audet & Partners, San Francisco, CA, William E. Winingham, Wilson Kehoe & Winingham, Christopher L. Garrison, Garrison Law Firm LLC, Sarah Jane Graziano, Hensley Legal Group, Indianapolis, IN, Adam S. Gober, Gerald B. Taylor, Jr., Taylor Law Firm LLC, Jennifer Lenze, Sizemore Taylor LLP, Fairhope, AL, Allan Berger, Andrew Jason Geiger, Allan Berger & Associates, Lawrence J. Centola, III, Scott R. Bickford, Martzell & Bickford APC, New Orleans, LA, Andrea Witcher Brock, Andrea Brock PA, Forrest City, AR, Andrew G. Finkelstein, Andrew Finkelstein, Mary Ellen Wright, Finkelstein & Partners, LLP, Newburgh, NY, Angela Newell Gray, Gray Newell LLP, Greensboro, NC, Angela R. Shute, Kelley, Scritsmier Law Firm, Tim W. Thompson, Kelley Scritsmier & Byrne, PC, North Platte, NE, Ann E. Brown-Graff, Brad J. Brady, Brady & O'Shea PC, Larry D. Helvey, Larry Helvey Law Firm, Cedar Rapids, IA, Antoinette Burgess, Fred Tromberg, Paul E. Bueker, Robert Brian Lippelman, Law Offices of Fred Tromberg, Jacksonville, FL, Baharak Dejban, Michael Hagop Boyamian, Shawn Khorrami, Khorrami LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Benjamin E. Maxell, Adams & Sullivan PC, Papillion, NE, Bradley Russell Irwin, Rick Alan Carmickle, Irwin & Boesen PC, Robert Newton Trigg, Eley Galloway Trigg LLP, Denver, CO, Bradley C. West, Terry W. West, The West Law Firm, Shawnee, OK, Dale M. Foreman, Law Offices of Dale M. Foreman, Wenatchee, WA, Daniel C. Burke, Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, Port Washington, NY, Daniel M. Delluomo, Delluomo & Crow, Oklahoma City, OK, David F. Miceli, Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd, LLC, Carrolton, GA, David M. Peterson, Nicholas Scott Clevenger, Peterson & Associates PC, Kansas City, MO, David W. Stewart, Michael J. Sobieray, Stewart & Stewart, Carmel, IN, Dylan James Nelson, Aaron M. Levine & Associates, Washington, DC, Eric S. Johnson, John J. Foley, Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC, Alton, IL, Frank Anthony Delle Donne, Monaco & Monaco LLP, Brooklyn, NY, G. Patrick Jacobs, The Law Office of G. Patrick Jacobs, LLC, J. Jeaneen Legato, Legato Law PLLC, Charleston, WV, Gerald S. Sack, Law Offices of Gerald S. Sack, LLC, West Hartford, CT, H. Truman Chafin, Letitia Neese Chafin, The H. Truman Chafin Law Firm, Williamson,WV, Ian Connor Bifferato, Bifferato LLC, Wilmington, DE, J. Paul Sizemore, Sizemore Law Firm PLC, Sean O. McCrary, The Sizemore Law Firm, El Segundo, CA, Jody Donald Peterman, Terry & Peterman LLP, Valdosta, GA, Karen Collins, Hardison & Cochran PLLC, Raleigh, NC, Marcus S. McGee, Jackson & McGee LLP, Charlotte, NC, Maria D. Tejedor, Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor, PA, Orlando, FL, Mark W. Davis, Martin D. Crump, Davis & Crump PC, Gulfport, MS, Michael G. Doton, Tufankjian McDonald Welch & Sacchitella, Brockton, MA, Patty Ann Trantham, Robert L. Salim PLC, Natchitoches, LA, Paul D. Motz, Cutler & Hull, Chicago, IL, Richard W. Evans, McCarthy Wilson LLP, Rockville, MD, Scott G. Hunziker, The Voss Law Firm PC, The Woodlands, TX, Sean T. Higgins, Andrews & Thornton, Irvine, CA, Steven W. Pittman, Chatham Damare' Pittman, PLLC, Hernando, MS, Susan G. Donahue, Law Office of Susan Donahue, Twisp, WA, Susan P. Weeks, James Vernon & Weeks PA, Coeur D'Alene, ID, Thomas B Powers Williams Love O'Leary & Powers, PC Portland, OR, Victor H. Pribanic, Pribanic & Pribanic LLC, White Oak, PA, Matthew Nimy Metz, Metz Law Group PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Plaintiffs.

Albert Edward Hartmann, David Jordan Pivnick, Raj Niranjan Shah, DLA Piper US LLP IL, Chicago, IL, Andrew B. Johnson, F.M. Haston, III, Clyde W. Steineker, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Birmingham, AL, Bonnie L. Gallivan, Katherine A. Winchester, Amy K. Fisher, Ice Miller LLP, Indianapolis, IN, Carol Dan Browning, Stites & Harbison, Jamie K. Neal, Sarah G. Cronan, Stites & Harbison, PLLC, Louisville, KY, Charles F. Gotch, Cassem, Tierney Law Firm, Michael K. Huffer, Cassem Tierney Adams Gotch & Douglas, Omaha, NE, Christopher G. Campbell, DLA Piper LLP, Atlanta, GA, Christopher C. Land, Clifford Chance US, LLP, Loren H. Brown, DLA Piper US LLP, New York, NY, Daniel C. Headrick, Paine Tarwater & Bickers LLP, Dwight E. Tarwater, Paine Swiney & Tarwater, Knoxville, TN, John W. Sinnott, Kelly G. Juneau, Quentin F. Urquhart, Jr., Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore LLC, New Orleans, LA, Joseph M. Price, Peter J. Goss, Faegre & Benson LLP, Minneapolis, MN, Nicholas J. Voelker, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Charlotte, NC, Raymond M. Williams, DLA Piper LLP, Philadelphia, PA, Alison Anne Verret, Richard M. Eldridge, Thomas E. Steichen, Eldridge Cooper Steichen & Leach PLLC, Tulsa, OK, Brooke L. Killian, DLA Piper US, San Diego, CA, Christopher Duke Baucom, Armstrong Teasdale LLP, St. Louis, MO, David A. White, Matthew Joseph Rifino, McCarter & English, LLP, Wilmington, DE, Kathy J. Owen, DLA Piper US LLP, Dallas, TX, Kimberly O Branscome, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, DC, Lela Hollabaugh, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Nashville, TN, Lyn Peeples Pruitt, Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard PLLC, Little Rock, AR, Michael J. Sandmire, Ater Wynne, LLP, Portland, OR, Nancy J. Penner, Robert D. Houghton, Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, Cedar Rapids, IA, Prince C. Chambliss, Jr., Armstrong Allen Prewitt Gentry Johnston & Holmes, Memphis, TN, Ralph Streza, Critchfield, Critchfield & Johnston, Ltd., Medina, OH, Robert M. Sellards, Ryan Q. Ashworth, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, Huntington, WV, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

INGE PRYTZ JOHNSON, District Judge.

Pending before the court is the defendant's motion for summary judgment and exhibits in support of said motion as to (1) the adequacy of the July 1, 2009, label, and (2) the running of the statutes of limitationsbased on the July 1, 2009, label (doc. 590); a memorandum in support of said motion (doc. 591); the plaintiffs' brief in opposition to said motion (doc. 602); exhibits in support of said opposition (docs. 609 and 610); and the defendant's reply (doc. 617). Having considered the foregoing, the court finds as follows:

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This is a multidistrict product liability action concerning the drug Chantix, ¹ touted by defendant as a medication to aid in smoking cessation. The Food...