Summary
This document is Conditional Transfer Order CTO-117 issued by the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in In re: Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level PAP, and Mechanical Ventilator Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3014. It conditionally transfers Sexton v. Philips RS North America, LLC et al., C.A. No. 26-00853, from the Northern District of California to the Western District of Pennsylvania for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Sexton action should be conditionally transferred to the Western District of Pennsylvania for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 1407.
- Whether the action should be assigned to Judge Joy Flowers Conti with the consent of the transferee court.
Holdings
- The action was conditionally transferred to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings because it involved questions of fact common to actions previously transferred there.
- The transferred action was assigned to Judge Joy Flowers Conti with the consent of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Key quotations
“It appears that the action(s) on this conditional transfer order involve questions of fact that are common to the actions previously transferred to the Western District of Pennsylvania and assigned to Judge Conti.”
“This order does not become effective until it is filed in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.”
Factual background
The action concerns alleged liability involving Philips recalled CPAP, Bi-Level PAP, and mechanical ventilator products. The Panel had already transferred hundreds of related actions to the Western District of Pennsylvania for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings. The Panel found that the scheduled Sexton action presented questions of fact common to those previously transferred actions.
Procedural history
The Judicial Panel previously transferred actions involving Philips recalled CPAP, Bi-Level PAP, and mechanical ventilator products to the Western District of Pennsylvania under 28 U.S.C. § 1407. The Panel determined that the action listed on the CTO-117 schedule involved common questions of fact and conditionally transferred it to that district, with the consent of the transferee court, for assignment to Judge Joy Flowers Conti. The transfer was subject to a seven-day opposition period and became effective upon filing with the clerk of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Remand instructions
The action is to be transferred to the Western District of Pennsylvania and assigned to Judge Joy Flowers Conti. The order does not become effective until filed with the clerk of that court; transmittal is stayed for seven days from entry, subject to continuation of the stay if a timely opposition is filed.