Faegre Drinker Obtains Victory for Zimmer Biomet in First Bellwether Case in Hip Implant MDL

A team of Faegre Drinker product liability and mass torts attorneys represented Zimmer, Inc. in its victory in the first bellwether case in re: Zimmer M/L Taper Hip Prosthesis or M/L Taper Hip Prosthesis with Kinectiv Technology and VerSys Femoral Head Prods. Liab. Litig., 1:18-md-02859, pending in the Southern District of New York before Hon. Paul A. Crotty. On August 6, 2021, the Court granted Zimmer’s motion for summary judgment in the suit, after finding that the plaintiff’s expert witness’s opinion regarding alleged defects in the M/L Taper with Kinectiv and the VerSys Head is unreliable and inadmissible. The judge noted that there was too large of a gap between the data the plaintiff’s expert witness cited and the conclusions she reached and awarded summary judgment. The case was scheduled to begin a jury trial on September 28, 2021.

The Faegre Drinker team representing Zimmer is led by product liability and mass torts partner Michael Kanute, and also includes partners Peter Meyer and Tarifa Laddon, associates Jori Loren, Sean Powell and Tess Godhardt, and senior paralegal Brenda McShane. A larger cross-office team of Faegre Drinker attorneys who provided support during discovery also contributed to the victory for Zimmer.

In an article for Law360, Kanute told the legal industry publication that, “Zimmer Biomet is pleased that the court confirmed what the medical literature and registry data continue to demonstrate — that there is no reliable scientific evidence of a defect in the products at issue.” He added, “Surgeons have trusted these products for decades and still choose them for their patients to this day, and we look forward to continuing to defend them.”