URGENT: ACTOS SETTLEMENT ANNOUNCED WITH DEADLINE TO PARTICIPATE THIS FRIDAY

Takeda announced today that it agreed to pay $2.37 billion to resolve lawsuits accusing the company of hiding its Actos diabetes medicine’s cancer risks.

The agreement states that the deal will go through if 95% of those with claims against Asia’s largest drug maker agree to accept the settlement. If the settlement’s participation rate climbs to 97%, Takeda will add $300 million to the settlement, bringing it to a total of $2.4 billion.

It is estimated that the average settlement per claim is $296,000. The payment may be reduced depending on a patient’s age, smoking history and exposure to toxins, which is similar to other mass tort settlements including the DePuy ASR agreement.

Last year a jury found against Takeda and Eli Lilly & Co. in the amount of $9 billion in damages to a shopkeeper who blamed Actos for causing his bladder cancer. That award was later reduced to $36.8 million by a judge.

If you have not filed a lawsuit against Actos and you qualify under the terms of the settlement agreement, you can still participate, but time is running out. If you have retained an attorney by this Friday, May 1, 2015, you can still participate in the proposed settlement. Your attorney will have to file a declaration before July 13, 2015, stating they were retained prior to May 1, 2015.

If you or a loved one developed bladder cancer as a result of the prescription drug Actos, contact me immediately to protect your rights. Contact Booth Samuels at 1-866-515-8880 or by email at booths@pittmandutton.com for a free consultation. 

Target Proposes Settlement With MasterCard

Target has agreed to pay MasterCard-issuing banks and credit unions as much as $19 million to reimburse for losses related to the Holliday season 2013 hack that resulted in up to 40 million accounts being breached. For more information on data breach, see my previous blog postings.

The settlement covers the costs of reissuing credit and debit cards after the breach, as well as fraudulent charges on those cards. In order for the agreement to proceed, at least 90% of eligible MasterCard issuers must acquiesce to the settlement. The deadline to accept the offer is May 20^th.

Target disclosed in a recent financial filing that it has incurred $252 million of breach-related expenses.

Last month, Target also settled a class-action lawsuit with individual cardholders for $10 million.

Target’s high-profile breach pushed banks, retailers and card companies to increase security by speeding the adoption of microchips in U.S. credit and debit cards. Some argue chip cards are safer, because unlike magnetic strip cards that transfer a credit card number when they are swiped at a point-of-sale terminal, chip cards use a one-time code that moves between the chip and the retailer’s register. The result is a transfer of data that is useless to anyone except the parties involved. Chip cards are also believed to be nearly impossible to copy.

Second Proposed Settlement in NCAA Concussion Lawsuit Announced

Earlier this month, a new proposed settlement agreement was filed with the Court in the NCAA Concussion MDL. In December, District Court Judge John Z. Lee rejected a preliminary approval of the lawsuit, saying it was unclear in some sections and the dollar amount proposed was potentially insufficient. Lee then ordered both sides to attempt to reach a different settlement.

The original lawsuit called for the NCAA to create a $70 million fund to test current and former athletes in contact and non-contact sports for trauma caused by brain injuries. It also called for the NCAA to strengthen its return-to-play rules after an athlete suffers a concussion. Judge Lee had noted that the first settlement did not allow the NCAA a means of enforcing schools to adopt rigorous return-to-play concussion policies.

The first lawsuit was filed in 2011 by four plaintiffs, including former safety Eastern Illinois Adrian Arrington, who said that he suffered five concussions during his career, with some so severe that he couldn’t recognize his parents after the head trauma. Since then, a total of 10 lawsuits have been filed against the NCAA, which were consolidated into an MDL in Chicago.

However, one attorney has objected to the proposed agreement. His argument includes that the proposed settlement is not just-compensation to athletes.

Reports have indicated that the amount of the settlement is close to the original proposed one.

In both settlement agreements, no money is allocated to athletes for damages. Instead the money would go towards testing and monitoring of former NCAA athletes. Approximately 4.4 million athletes could apply for the NCAA-funded testing.