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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
IN RE: PROPULSID : MDL NO. 1355 PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION : : SECTION: L : : JUDGE FALLON : JUDGE AFRICK __________________________________________: MOTION BY TRIAL LAWYERS FOR PUBLIC JUSTICE, P.C. FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (“TLPJ”) moves this Court for permission to file an amicus brief in opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Injunction. A copy of the proposed amicus brief is filed with this motion. The grounds for this Motion are set forth in the Memorandum of Law in Support of the Motion for Leave to File Brief as Amicus Curiae attached herewith.
Respectfully submitted,
TRIAL LAWYERS FOR PUBLIC JUSTICE, by Adam Samaha Roberta Walburn Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP 2800 LaSalle Plaza 800 LaSalle Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55402-2015 (612) 349-8500
Arthur H. Bryant Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, P.C. One Kaiser Plaza Suite 275 Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 622-8150
Rebecca E. Epstein Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, P.C. 1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 797-8600 Counsel for Amicus Curiae Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, P.C. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
IN RE: PROPULSID : MDL NO. 1355 PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION : : SECTION: L : : JUDGE FALLON : JUDGE AFRICK __________________________________________: MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION BY TRIAL LAWYERS FOR PUBLIC JUSTICE, P.C. FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICUS CURIAE Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (“TLPJ”) is a national public interest law firm that specializes in precedent-setting and socially significant civil litigation and is dedicated to pursuing justice for the victims of corporate and governmental abuses. Litigating in federal and state courts, TLPJ prosecutes cases designed to advance consumers’ and victims’ rights, environmental protection and safety, civil rights and civil liberties, occupational health and employees’ rights, the preservation and improvement of the civil justice system, and the protection of the poor and the powerless. As part of its efforts to ensure the proper working of the civil justice system, TLPJ has consistently fought to preserve injury victims’ common law claims from unconstitutional encroachment, federal preemption, and class action abuse. Through this work, TLPJ has become especially concerned about — and repeatedly opposed — efforts by defendants to create mandatory, no-opt-out litigation that effectively deprives victims of their constitutional rights to pursue individual damages claims in the appropriate federal and state courts of their choice. Thus, in 1984, TLPJ helped persuade the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to vacate certification of a no-opt-out settlement class in the Bendectin litigation. See In Re Bendectin Prod. Liab. Litig., 749 F.2d 300 (6th Cir. 1984). In 1986, TLPJ successfully urged the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to overturn certification of a no-opt-out punitive damages class. See In Re School Asbestos Litig., 789 F.2d 996 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 915 (1986). TLPJ has also filed amicus briefs urging courts to reaffirm the constitutional right of individuals to opt out of class actions for money damages in Adams v. Robertson, 676 So.2d 1265 (Ala. 1995), cert. dism’d as improv. granted, 520 U.S. 83 (1997), and Ticor Title Ins. Co. v. Brown, 511 U.S. 117 (1994). In seeking to enjoin all state litigation regarding Propulsid and to proceed only in this Court, Defendants advance novel, ill-advised arguments that threaten to set harmful precedent if granted. The matters involved in this case are therefore of great interest to TLPJ. TLPJ believes that the arguments presented in the enclosed brief will assist the Court in reaching a decision in this matter.
Respectfully submitted,
TRIAL LAWYERS FOR PUBLIC JUSTICE, by Adam Samaha Roberta Walburn Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP 2800 LaSalle Plaza 800 LaSalle Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55402-2015 (612) 349-8500
Arthur H. Bryant Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, P.C. One Kaiser Plaza Suite 275 Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 622-8150
Rebecca E. Epstein Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, P.C. 1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 797-8600 Counsel for Amicus Curiae Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, P.C.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a copy of the above and foregoing pleading has been served upon counsel of record for Johnson & Johnson Company and Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc., and for the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee by hand delivery on this _______ day of ___________, 2001. _______________________________________ |