In re Factor VIII or IX Concentrate Blood Products Litigation
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
169 F.R.D. 632 (1996)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Hemophilia patients use factor concentrates, derived from donated blood plasma, to help with blood clotting. A number of hemophilia patients (patients) (plaintiffs) were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sued the factor-concentrate manufacturers (manufacturers) (defendants), alleging that the patients’ HIV infections were caused by the negligent preparation of the products. The litigation was comprised of 190 actions in a variety of courts, all of which were transferred to Judge Grady in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Grady established a deadline for the parties to name expert witnesses and to provide for depositions. The manufacturers designated 137 potential expert witnesses. The patients, arguing that it was impossible to depose all 137 expert witnesses, moved for an order requiring the manufacturers to shorten their expert-witness list. The manufacturers argued that, as transferee judge, Judge Grady had authority only over pretrial matters. Because at least a portion of the expert witnesses were expected to testify at trial, the manufacturers argued, the length of the expert-witness list was a trial matter and thus beyond Judge Grady’s authority.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Grady, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
