Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Depo-Provera and Philips CPAP Dockets Swell in Mass Tort Surge

Federal dockets recorded a substantial volume of product liability and multidistrict litigation activity over the past 24 hours, with filings heavily concentrated across pharmaceutical, medical device, and consumer product dockets. The most significant surges materialized in women's health and medical device litigations, specifically within the newly formed Depo-Provera docket and the ongoing Philips CPAP recall proceedings, signaling an aggressive plaintiff-side acquisition phase as these mass torts mature.

The Depo-Provera Litigation (MDL 3140) dominated the daily docket with 28 new complaints alleging the contraceptive injection causes an increased risk of developing meningioma brain tumors. Hochman Law Firm PLLC directed the bulk of this activity, registering 16 new cases. They were joined by Weitz & Luxenberg PC with three filings, while Burnett Law Firm, Chaffin Luhana LLP, and Schwaba Law Firm contributed two each. In the medical device sector, the Philips CPAP Litigation (MDL 3014) experienced a highly concentrated spike of 21 new filings. This entire tranche was filed exclusively by Dicello Levitt LLP, underscoring the firm's continued strategic pressure regarding the recalled sleep apnea machines and ventilators linked to toxic sound abatement foam degradation.

Cosmetic and personal care mass torts also maintained a brisk filing cadence. The Hair Relaxer Litigation (MDL 3060) expanded by 21 cases, driven by a diverse coalition of plaintiffs' firms. Ashcraft Gerel LLP and Morgan & Morgan PA led the charge with five filings apiece, followed closely by Douglas & London with four and Kline Specter PC with three. These complaints continue to allege that prolonged exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in chemical straighteners causes uterine and ovarian cancers.

In the pharmaceutical sector, the battle over blockbuster weight-loss drugs is expanding across two distinct injury tracks. The GLP-1 Gastroparesis Litigation (MDL 3094) recorded 13 new filings, spearheaded by Nigh Goldenberg Raso Vaughn PLLC with six cases, alongside three each from Morgan & Morgan and Seeger Weiss. Outside of pharmaceuticals, the Social Media Adolescent Addiction Litigation (MDL 3047) swelled by 14 cases. Keller Postman LLC dominated this docket with 10 new filings, advancing claims that major tech platforms intentionally designed defective, algorithmically addictive products that cause severe mental health injuries in minors.

Monsanto Blasts Attempt to Move $7.25 Billion Roundup Settlement as ‘Baseless and Untimely’

On May 26, 2026, Monsanto pushed back against a faction of objectors who removed the proposed $7.25 billion nationwide class-action settlement to federal court, filing a motion to immediately remand the proceedings back to the St. Louis Circuit Court. The company and lead settlement attorneys characterized the removal — engineered by attorney Ashley Keller of Keller Postman on behalf of 13 objectors — as a "baseless and untimely" delay tactic designed to disrupt the looming June 4 opt-out deadline. The objectors argue the settlement constitutes a "sweetheart deal" that violates due process, allocating an excessive $675 million in attorneys' fees while offering tiered compensation averaging $10,000 to $40,000 to actual cancer victims and severely restricting the rights of future claimants. This procedural skirmish over the Roundup Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2741) unfolds as the parties await a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, argued April 27, 2026, on whether FIFRA preempts state-level failure-to-warn claims — a decision expected in late June that could fundamentally alter the viability of state-court Roundup litigation.

Virginia Joins 14-State Coalition Challenging EPA Ethylene Oxide Rollback

On May 19, 2026, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones announced that Virginia had joined a coalition of 14 state attorneys general formally opposing the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed repeal of the 2024 ethylene oxide emissions standards — a development characterized by state media as a legal challenge against the federal rollback. The 2024 rules required commercial sterilizers to implement continuous emissions monitoring and achieve "full capture" of ethylene oxide (EtO), a chemical primarily used to sterilize medical equipment but classified as a known human carcinogen with chronic exposure scientifically linked to lymphoma, leukemia, and breast cancers. The coalition's filings and public comments argue that rolling back the standards to weaker, pre-2024 baselines violates the Clean Air Act and ignores established scientific evidence regarding the severe health hazards posed by EtO exposure. The challenge sets up a direct confrontation between multistate attorneys general and the federal government over the agency's authority to retreat from recently enacted health-protective emissions controls.