Wednesday, May 6, 2026

PowerPort, Baby Food Metals Drive Midweek Docket as Talc Volume Cools

The Bard Implanted Port Catheter Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3081) absorbed 46 new filings in the District of Arizona this week, emerging as the third-busiest docket behind only talc and Uber assault litigation. The surge concentrates before Judge David G. Campbell and marks the most concentrated PowerPort activity since centralization, with filings clustering around device fracture and migration allegations. The Baby Food Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3101) added 19 new complaints split between Florida's Middle and Northern Districts, continuing momentum on heavy metals exposure claims. Meanwhile, the Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3163) quietly added 9 filings before Judge Karen S. Marston ahead of next month's Science Day, suggesting plaintiff firms are positioning cases before potential causation rulings.

Lyft Assault MDL Opens With First Federal Filing as Ride-Share Liability Expands

The Lyft Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation (MDL 3171) recorded its first federal complaint May 5, 2026 in the Eastern District of California (2:26-at-00741), formally launching the newly centralized docket before Judge Troy L. Nunley. The filing arrives weeks after the JPML's April 2026 consolidation order and signals plaintiff firms are moving quickly to transfer pending state court actions. The MDL now joins the Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation (MDL 3084) as the second major ride-share assault consolidation, with Uber's docket having already swelled to roughly 3,462 pending actions. The parallel proceedings create strategic pressure for coordinated discovery and potentially divergent settlement frameworks, as defendants face overlapping allegations of inadequate driver screening and passenger safety protocols.

Bard Hernia Mesh MDL Sees Post-Settlement Activity as Individual Claims Persist

Four new filings entered the Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2846) this week in the Southern District of Ohio, despite the MDL's global settlement covering most pending claims. The filings suggest a residual pool of plaintiffs either excluded from or opting out of the settlement framework, with cases now proceeding individually before Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. The development highlights the persistent tail risk in settled mass torts, where late-identified injuries, statute of limitations tolling disputes, and coverage gaps generate continued federal docket activity. For practitioners, the filings indicate potential opportunities in individual case valuation and settlement opt-out strategy as the MDL transitions toward closure.