Omaha World-Herald
April 19, 2000
Settlement Ends Fen-Phen Trial
BY PATRICK STRAWBRIDGE
COUNCIL BLUFFS BUREAU
The civil trial pitting a woman from Treynor, Iowa, against the company that manufactured a popular weight-loss drug came to an abrupt end Wednesday when both sides agreed to settle the matter out of court.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Wednesday's result was announced shortly before testimony began in the second day of the trial in Pottawattamie County District Court.
"I'm glad it's over," plaintiff Dorothy Rollins said in a quiet voice outside the courtroom. "We're going to go home."
Rollins said she was satisfied with the outcome.
Her lawsuit centered on her use of fen-phen, a popular weight-loss drug combination used by millions of Americans in the 1990s. Rollins said she took the drug during the course of two years and then developed heart problems that required surgery. Among that surgery's complications was a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side, she said.
Two of the pills used in the drug combination, Redux and Pondimin, were pulled from shelves in 1997 after reports linked them to severe heart and lung problems in some users. Since then, the pills' marketer - pharmaceutical giant American Home Products - has been hit with thousands of lawsuits by users who blame fen-phen for ruining their health. The lawsuits accuse American Home of downplaying the prescription's harmful effects to regulators and intentionally delaying removal of Redux and Pondimin from the market. Only a few cases have reached the trial stage, and many legal observers considered Rollins' suit a test case for the Midwest.
It is not unusual for civil cases to be settled after a trial begins. Such settlements frequently occur as lawyers assess the jury, the opposition's arguments and the possibility of losing a verdict. American Home has settled most of the few fen-phen cases that have entered a courtroom. The company also has offered more than $3.75 billion to thousands of plaintiffs suing in federal court.
Had the jury in Rollins' case ruled in her favor, American Home could have faced millions of dollars in punitive damages. Terms of any settlement are usually kept private. However, news media reports about other fen-phen settlements have placed the amounts involved at between $500,000 and $4.5 million. Brian Lietch, a lawyer for American Home, said Wednesday that Rollins' settlement was not comparable to other cases. He declined to say how it differed.
"We're satisfied," he said, walking rapidly from the courthouse. Also satisfied was Rollins' lawyer, Zoe Littlepage of Houston. This was Littlepage's first fen-phen trial, although her law firm has hundreds of other suits related to the drug combination pending throughout the country. She said Wednesday's result was in the best interests of her client.
Copyright 2000, Omaha World-Herald