In re: Acetaminophen - ASD-ADHD Products Liability Litigation

Filing 84

ORDER: MASTER ANSWERS AND RULE 41(a) DISMISSALS: Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the defendants' Master Answers shall be filed by August 22, 2023. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that in any Member Cases pending on or before July 31, 2023, the plaintiffs shall file by August 30, 2023 an amended SFC on their individual member case docket using the amended SFC template and upload the same to MDL Centrality in accordance with the January 9, 2023 Order: Short Form Complaint s (22MC3043: ECF No. 38). The amendments to the SFC shall be limited to revisions that reflect the Court's rulings on the defendants' motions to dismiss, that add defendants already identified in a plaintiff's previously filed P FS, or that have the written consent of all of the defendants named in the SFC. The joinder of a defendant through the amendment of the SFC, as permitted by this Order, shall not be deemed a waiver of that defendant's objections to servi ce, jurisdiction, or venue, and will not waive any defenses to any claims or issues not pleaded in the Amended Master Complaint. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that any other amendment to any SFC, including the joinder of additional parties, the identification of an additional product, and/or the addition of a claim, shall require the written consent of all defendants in the action or leave of Court, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that dismissal of any defendant from an action for the purpose of either curing a product misidentification or a purchase history inconsistency shall be effectuated by August 30, 2023, through a stipulation of dismissal executed by all of the parties to the action and file d on the Master Docket and the individual Member Case docket. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, as set forth in the December 9, 2022 Order: Scheduling Master Complaints, SFCs, and Motions to Dismiss, a Master Answer shall constitute the defenda nts' answer to the Amended Master Complaint and to any SFC to which the Amended Master Complaint applies, except that a defendant's Master Answer will not waive any objections to service, jurisdiction, or venue, and will not waive a ny defenses to any claims or issues not pleaded in the Amended Master Complaint. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that for purposes of Rules 12 (a) (1) (A) and 41 (a), Fed. R. Civ. P., the following provisions will apply, as further set forth in this Order. ( Amended Pleadings due by 8/30/2023.) (Signed by Judge Denise L. Cote on 8/16/2023) (vfr)