ADAMS et al v. COOK MEDICAL et al
Filing
156
ORDER denying (620) Motion to Bifurcate in case 1:14-ml-02570-RLY-TAB; denying (138) Motion in case 1:13-cv-00013-RLY-TAB; denying (126) Motion in case 1:13-cv-00925-RLY-TAB; denying (126) Motion in case 1:13-cv-00986-RLY-TAB; denying (123) Moti on in case 1:13-cv-01048-RLY-TAB; denying (121) Motion in case 1:13-cv-01845-RLY-TAB; denying (116) Motion in case 1:13-cv-01946-RLY-TAB; denying (133) Motion in case 1:14-cv-00139-RLY-TAB; denying (115) Motion in case 1:14-cv-00580-RLY-TAB; deny ing (111) Motion in case 1:14-cv-00736-RLY-TAB; denying (113) Motion in case 1:14-cv-00784-RLY-TAB; denying (112) Motion in case 1:14-cv-00841-RLY-TAB; denying (110) Motion in case 1:14-cv-00998-RLY-TAB; denying (113) Motion in case 1:14-cv-0103 4-RLY-TAB; denying (120) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01209-RLY-TAB; denying (128) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01202-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01323-RLY-TAB; denying (108) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01451-RLY-TAB; denying (113) Motion in ca se 1:14-cv-01579-RLY-TAB; ; denying (122) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06009-RLY-TAB; denying (119) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06002-RLY-TAB; denying (121) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06012-RLY-TAB; denying (113) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06011-RLY-TAB; denying (1 53) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06004-RLY-TAB; denying (134) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06008-RLY-TAB; denying (157) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06003-RLY-TAB; denying (120) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06005-RLY-TAB; denying (106) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06001-RLY- TAB; denying (121) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06010-RLY-TAB; denying (147) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06006-RLY-TAB; denying (130) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06007-RLY-TAB; denying (134) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06000-RLY-TAB; denying (112) Motion in case 1:1 4-cv-06013-RLY-TAB; denying (107) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01786-RLY-TAB; denying (105) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06014-RLY-TAB; denying (110) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06015-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01870-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Mot ion in case 1:14-cv-01871-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01872-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01873-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01874-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01875-RLY-TAB; den ying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01876-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01877-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01878-RLY-TAB; denying (104) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01879-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-018 80-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01881-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01882-RLY-TAB; denying (103) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01883-RLY-TAB; denying (96) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06016-RLY-TAB; denying (97) Motion in cas e 1:14-cv-06017-RLY-TAB; denying (98) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01971-RLY-TAB; denying (99) Motion in case 1:14-cv-01974-RLY-TAB; denying (92) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06018-RLY-TAB; denying (95) Motion in case 1:14-cv-02053-RLY-TAB; denying (93) Mot ion in case 1:14-cv-06019-RLY-TAB; denying (95) Motion in case 1:14-cv-06020-RLY-TAB; denying (89) Motion in case 1:14-cv-02130-RLY-TAB; denying (96) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00016-RLY-TAB; denying (91) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00018-RLY-TAB; denying (89) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00102-RLY-TAB; denying (90) Motion in case 1:15-cv-06021-RLY-TAB; denying (79) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00175-RLY-TAB; denying (90) Motion in case 1:15-cv-06022-RLY-TAB; denying (82) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00235-RLY-TA B; denying (84) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00236-RLY-TAB; denying (79) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00237-RLY-TAB; denying (81) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00238-RLY-TAB; denying (77) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00246-RLY-TAB; denying (77) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00 248-RLY-TAB; denying (77) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00250-RLY-TAB; denying (87) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00251-RLY-TAB; denying (85) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00253-RLY-TAB; denying (84) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00256-RLY-TAB; denying (83) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00258-RLY-TAB; denying (76) Motion in case 1:15-cv-06023-RLY-TAB; denying (61) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00414-RLY-TAB; denying (58) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00479-RLY-TAB; denying (58) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00503-RLY-TAB; denying (58) Motio n in case 1:15-cv-00525-RLY-TAB; denying (55) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00554-RLY-TAB; denying (59) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00555-RLY-TAB; denying (59) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00566-RLY-TAB; denying (58) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00567-RLY-TAB; denying ( 57) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00568-RLY-TAB; denying (58) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00595-RLY-TAB; denying (58) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00597-RLY-TAB; denying (59) Motion in case 1:15-cv-06024-RLY-TAB; denying (67) Motion in case 1:15-cv-06025-RLY-TAB; denying (51) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00611-RLY-TAB; denying (82) Motion in case 1:15-cv-06026-RLY-TAB; denying (46) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00642-RLY-TAB; denying (42) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00715-RLY-TAB; denying (43) Motion in case 1:15-cv-0072 5-RLY-TAB; denying (41) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00763-RLY-TAB; denying (38) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00764-RLY-TAB; denying (37) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00798-RLY-TAB; denying (35) Motion in case 1:15-cv-00800-RLY-TAB; denying (39) Motion in case 1: 15-cv-00852-RLY-TAB; denying (38) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01010-RLY-TAB; denying (29) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01020-RLY-TAB; denying (30) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01021-RLY-TAB; denying (27) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01070-RLY-TAB; denying (26) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01071-RLY-TAB; denying (27) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01073-RLY-TAB; denying (28) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01074-RLY-TAB; denying (27) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01075-RLY-TAB; denying (26) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01076-RLY-TAB; denying (27 ) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01088-RLY-TAB; denying (28) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01100-RLY-TAB; denying (26) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01132-RLY-TAB; denying (17) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01159-RLY-TAB; denying (23) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01176-RLY-TAB; d enying (25) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01185-RLY-TAB; denying (25) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01186-RLY-TAB; denying (25) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01187-RLY-TAB; denying (25) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01188-RLY-TAB; denying (11) Motion in case 1:15-cv-01239-RLY-TAB. Signed by Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker on 10/30/2015. Associated Cases: 1:14-ml-02570-RLY-TAB et al.(NRN)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
In Re: COOK MEDICAL, INC., IVC
FILTERS MARKETING, SALES
PRACTICES AND PRODUCT LIABILITY
LITIGATION MDL 2570,
______________________________________
This Document Relates to All Actions
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No. 1:14-ml-02570-RLY-TAB
MDL No. 2570
ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO BIFURCATE
Defendants ask the Court to bifurcate Plaintiffs’ punitive damages claims during
discovery and at trial. [Filing No. 620.] Plaintiffs object to this request. For the following
reasons, the Court denies Defendants’ motion.
Defendants manufacture medical devices. More than 150 Plaintiffs have joined this
multidistrict litigation, alleging various personal injuries from Defendants’ vena cava filter
devices after implantation. One of the many counts in these complaints is for punitive damages,
alleging that Defendants concealed the injury-related risks and acted with conscious indifference
to the rights, safety, and welfare of Plaintiffs. Defendants deny Plaintiffs’ allegations and stand
by their filter devices, continuing to market and sell them to consumers.
Defendants’ motion to bifurcate has two primary components. First, Defendants ask the
Court to stay discovery of their “financial information” until after the dispositive motion stage of
litigation. Defendants want to withhold this broad category of information to see if Plaintiffs’
punitive damages claims survive summary judgment. If the claims do survive, Defendants’
second request is that the trial be conducted in two stages. At stage one, Defendants’ financial
information would be withheld to allow the jury to decide the extent of Defendants’ liability, if
any, for punitive damages. Then, if the jury finds Defendants are liable, stage two would allow
Plaintiffs to present evidence of Defendants’ financial information for purposes of calculating a
punitive damages award. Importantly, Defendants’ proposal to bifurcate the trial makes stage
two the only stage at which the jury may hear any information concerning Defendants’ finances.
[Filing No. 621, at ECF p. 5.]
The Court turns first to Defendants’ proposal that discovery be bifurcated. Defendants
argue that their financial information is not relevant to liability, so Plaintiffs will not be unfairly
prejudiced. Defendants also asserts that if the punitive damages claims survive summary
judgment, Plaintiffs will have adequate time to conduct discovery on their financial information.
Plaintiffs contend that Defendants have not defined what is so unduly prejudicial to the discovery
of its financial information and why.
Courts occasionally bifurcate discovery related to liability and punitive damages due to
the sensitivity of financial information. Flomo v. Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., No. 106CV-00627-DFH-JMS, 2009 WL 1456736, at *11 (S.D. Ind. May 20, 2009). “[F]or good cause,”
the Court may enter a protective order “specifying terms, including time and place, for the
disclosure or discovery” to protect a party from “annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or
undue burden or expense.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1)(B). The party requesting the protective
order has the burden of demonstrating to the Court that “good cause” exists for its issuance.
Jepson, Inc. v. Makita Elec. Works, Ltd., 30 F.3d 854, 858 (7th Cir. 1994).
Defendants’ request to postpone discovery of its financial information is not well taken
because Defendants failed to identify with specificity the discovery material they wish to protect.
Defendants seeks broad protection of “sensitive financial information, such as revenues, product
margins, net worth, and employee pay.” [Filing No. 648, at ECF p. 2.] Plaintiffs argue this is an
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overly broad category of information which is closely intertwined with issues of liability in this
case. Indeed, the lack of specificity makes it difficult for the Court to understand exactly what
discovery Defendants want to protect, which in turn could complicate the scope of bifurcated
discovery and generate avoidable discovery disputes. Moreover, discovery bifurcation could
prejudice Plaintiffs’ ability to respond to a motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs’ punitive
damages claims are based on Defendants’ alleged profiting from Plaintiffs’ injuries. As such,
discovery of Defendants’ financial information may be critical to the survival of Plaintiffs’
punitive damages claims at summary judgment.
Defendants also argue that the large number of individuals involved in this case creates a
risk that their financial information may be improperly released. Yet Defendants do not object to
this risk if the punitive damages claims survive summary judgment. Therefore, postponing such
discovery may minimize the risk but it does not alleviate it.
At bottom, the Court concludes that Defendants have failed to establish good cause to
support their request to bifurcate discovery. Thus, Defendants’ request is denied. This denial,
however, is without prejudice due to the complicated nature of this case and Defendants’ lack of
specificity. See e.g., Flomo, 2009 WL 1456736 at *11 (denying a motion to compel discovery of
financial information without prejudice due to the sensitivity of financial information and the
complicated nature of the case). 1
The Court next turns to Defendants’ proposal that the stages of trial be bifurcated.
Bifurcation is a procedural device to separate the trials of certain issues and claims for
1
Denying this motion without prejudice is not an invitation for Defendants to refile a similar
motion. Rather, it closes the door on broad discovery protections while leaving it unlocked in
case Defendants are later confronted with a genuine need to protect particularized, critically
sensitive information and the parties are unable to resolve the situation without involving the
Court.
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convenience, to avoid prejudice, or economize and expedite a trial. Fed. R. Civ. P. 42(b). There
is no presumption in favor of bifurcation. Trinity Homes, LLC v. Regent Ins. Co., No. 1:04-CV1920JDTWTL, 2006 WL 753125, at *2 (S.D. Ind. Mar. 20, 2006). The Court has the discretion
to bifurcate the trial, provided that doing so: “1) serves the interests of judicial economy or is
done to prevent prejudice to a party; 2) does not unfairly prejudice the non-moving party; and 3)
does not violate the Seventh Amendment.” Krocka v. City of Chi., 203 F.3d 507, 516 (7th Cir.
2000). The party seeking bifurcation has the burden of demonstrating that these criteria are
met. Id.; BASF Catalysts LLC v. Aristo, Inc., No. 2:07-CV-222, 2009 WL 523123, at *2 (N.D.
Ind. Mar. 2, 2009).
In this case, Defendants have not convinced the Court that bifurcation is appropriate.
Defendants assert that without bifurcation they would be prejudiced because the jury might
improperly consider their wealth in determining its liability for punitive damages. Defendants
also asserts that judicial economy will be promoted because if it succeeds at stage one, the issue
of punitive damages may be completely eliminated, thereby reducing the length of trial.
However, Plaintiffs contend that the issues of liability for punitive damages and Defendants’
financial information are inextricably intertwined. Plaintiffs argue they would be prejudiced
because the evidence cannot be neatly separated.
The Court similarly struggles to agree with Defendants’ matter-of-fact assertion that
Plaintiffs can be limited to only introducing financial evidence at the second stage of trial. As
Plaintiff points out, Defendants’ continued marketing and profiting from these devices create a
tangible overlap between its liability for punitive damages and its financial information.
Screening Defendants’ financial information from the first stage of trial leaves Plaintiffs with
incomplete evidence for arguing that Defendants are liable for punitive damages. How will a
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jury determine at stage one whether Defendants preserved their financial interest at the expense
of injury to Plaintiffs if all of the financial information is reserved for stage two? Separating and
withholding Defendants’ financial information at stage one might even confuse the jury on the
issue of liability. Defendants’ liability for punitive damages and its financial information are so
closely intertwined in this case that they cannot be separated without prejudicing Plaintiffs. The
trial judge, of course, may revisit these issues, for example, at the final pretrial conference with
the benefit of completed discovery, rulings on dispositive motions, and viable trial dates.
It is apparent to the Court that Plaintiffs need Defendants’ financial information to argue
that Defendants are liable for punitive damages. The jury will likewise need Defendants’
financial information when examining Defendants’ potential liability for punitive damages.
There is no presumption in favor of bifurcation and Defendants have not carried their burden.
Consequently, the Court denies Defendants’ request to bifurcate discovery and trial.
Date: 10/30/2015
_______________________________
Tim A. Baker
United States Magistrate Judge
Southern District of Indiana
Distribution to all electronically registered counsel of record via CM/ECF.
Distribution to all non-registered counsel of record to be made by Plaintiffs’ lead counsel.
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