In multidistrict litigation (MDL), several lawsuits are consolidated to avoid redundancy in U.S. District Courts regarding discovery and other pretrial processes.

Then, a few representative cases known as bellwether suits are tried for the purposes of testing the integrity of the evidence and arguments against the named defendants. Recently, two plaintiffs that had lost Xarelto bellwether trials against Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. have decided to appeal.

Plaintiffs Joseph B. and Joseph O., who both lost their Xarelto bellwether trials in May and June 2017 respectively, recently let the Louisiana federal court know of their mutual intention to file appeals on several orders and final judgments to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

After both lost their Xarelto bellwether trials, U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon officially denied the plaintiffs the right to a new trial in September.

The Plaintiff’s Stories

Joseph B. claims that he received a formal medical diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, a heart condition characterized by ineffectual pumping of the heart. This condition has been linked to blood clots that travel to the brain, producing strokes and is one of the ailments for which Xarelto, a newer blood-thinning medication, is prescribed.

Joseph B. says that he started taking Xarelto in January 2014 and presented at a hospital with out-of-control bleeding in his intestines within a few weeks of initiation. This issue required treatment with blood transfusions to overcome.

He is appealing the court’s judgment on the jury verdict made on June 15, in addition to the denial to allow him a new trial made by Judge Fallon in September.

Joseph O. blames the defendants for the wrongful death of his wife who allegedly suffered from a stroke because of the anticoagulant drug. He feels that the companies did very little to inform the medical professional community about the actual risks and dangers of Xarelto.

He is appealing a decision made on May 4, 2017 denying him judgment, a judgment made on the jury’s verdict which was made on May 15 and a judgment that was amended on that verdict and filed on the following day. He too, is appealing the denial of a new trial made by Judge Fallon.

Both consumers in the Xarelto bellwether trials will be appealing an April 18 order when they attempted to keep out the defendants’ expert testimony felt to be speculative and failed.

The drug companies also tried to prevent them from bringing certain evidence and testimony to trial as well and their efforts were successful. The two plaintiffs are intending on challenging this in the Fifth Circuit as well.

To date, the defendants have won three out of four Xarelto bellwether trials with a third victory gained in August of this year as well. There is a fourth trial pending.

The MDL in question is In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 2:14-md-02592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The Xarelto Bellwether Cases are Case No. 2:14-cv-02720 and Case No. 2:15-cv-03708, in the same court.