The Law firms of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and Zwerling, Schachter & Zwerling, LLP Announce the certification of a California Class of consumers and third party payors regarding the drug Cipro.
If you are located in California, and you purchased or paid for the prescription drug Cipro(R) since January 8, 1997, you may be affected by a class action lawsuit pending in San Diego Superior Court called Cipro(R) Cases I and II, J.C.C.P. Nos. 4154 and 4220.
What Is This Case About? Cipro(R) is an antibiotic drug prescribed by doctors. The Bayer Corporation markets Cipro(R) and is a defendant, as are Barr Laboratories, Inc., Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc., Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and The Rugby Group, Inc. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants agreed not to compete with each other, and thereby prevented a lower-cost generic form of Cipro(R) from being sold. Plaintiffs allege that, as a result, consumers had to pay more for Cipro(R) than they should have. Defendants deny Plaintiffs' allegations. The Court has not yet determined whether Plaintiffs' or Defendants' contentions are correct. The trial is scheduled to begin on January 21, 2005.
Am I Affected By This Litigation? There are two types of Plaintiffs:
-- Consumer Plaintiffs are people that paid for some or all of the price of Cipro(R) in California. A consumer plaintiff purchased Cipro(R) from a pharmacy or was administered Cipro(R) in a hospital. The consumer plaintiff must have lived in California at any time since January 8, 1997, and paid for some or all of the total cost of a Cipro(R) prescription in California during that time.
-- Third-party payor Plaintiffs include insurance companies, union health and welfare benefit plans, and other organizations that paid for all or part of a Cipro(R) prescription obtained by one of its California members since January 8, 1997.
Excluded from the Class are all persons who obtained Cipro(R) through the MediCal Prescription Drug Program, governmental entities, the Defendants and their related entities, any purchaser of Cipro(R) who paid a flat copayment and who would have paid the same copayment for a generic substitute under the terms of their health insurance coverage, and anyone that purchased Cipro(R) for purposes of resale.
How Do I Remain A Class Member? You Need Not Do Anything At This Time. As a Class Member, you will be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court. Any claims you have against Defendants concerning the allegations summarized in this Notice will be determined by the final resolution of the case. You do not have to pay the Class attorneys. If they obtain a recovery from the Defendants, they will ask the Court to order reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to be paid by Defendants or from any funds recovered. If you hire your own attorney, you must pay that attorney. You may also seek the Court's permission to intervene or personally appear in the action.
How Do I Exclude Myself From The Class? If you are an individual or an authorized representative of a third-party payor, and you want to be excluded from the Class, mail a signed letter asking to be excluded to:
Cipro(R) Claims Exclusions P.O. Box 2820 San Francisco, CA 94111.
All exclusion requests must be postmarked by December 15, 2004. If you exclude yourself, you cannot participate in any monetary recovery for the Class, and you will not be bound by any Court orders or judgments. If you wish to remain a member of the Class, DO NOT submit an exclusion form.
What If I Have Questions or Want More Information? This Notice is only a summary. For the full text of the Notice and additional information, visit the website at www.california-cipro-litigation.com, call 1-866-404-0135, or write to:
Cipro(R) Class Counsel P.O. Box 2820 San Francisco, CA 9411 All Court records may be examined in person and copied at: The Clerk's office San Diego Superior Court 330 West Broadway San Diego, California 92101 PLEASE DO NOT PHONE THE COURT 1-866-404-0135 www.california-cipro-litigation.com
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Delicious
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Digg
MySpace
Newsvine
Google Bookmark
Yahoo! Bookmark
Email
Email 
