As we previously discussed, on December 9, 2010, a Notice to the Bar was issued by Judge Glenn A. Grant, Acting Administrator of the Courts, advising that an application had been made, pursuant to Directive #7-09, “Revised Mass Tort Guidelines,” requesting designation of all New Jersey state-court litigation involving DePuy ASR™ hip implants as a mass tort and assignment for centralized management in Middlesex County. The federal cases have already been consolidated in the Northern District Court of Ohio.
On April 12, 2011, The Supreme Court of New Jersey Court ordered that all New Jersey cases shall be assigned for centralized case management purposes to Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Bergen County, New Jersey. As such, any cases filed in New Jersey state court will be transferred to Judge Martinotti to manage discovery.
The initial Case Management Conference with Judge Martinotti is scheduled for May 10, 2011, at which time, counsel is expected to discuss, among other things, the implementation of a discovery plan as well as efforts to coordinate with Judge David A. Katz, who is overseeing the cases in the federal MDL.
If you have had a hip replacement, which used one of the recalled DePuy devices, you can contact Stark & Stark and speak to one of the Mass Tort attorneys, free of charge, who can help assess any claims that you might have against the DePuy manufacturers.