The attorney in Israel is defending the class certification bid by consumers and health benefit plans, or end payers, who allege Ranbaxy's patent dispute settlement with Pfizer Inc. delayed the entrance of lower-priced generics into the market. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)
The attorney in Israel is defending the class certification bid by consumers and health benefit plans, or end payers, who allege Ranbaxy's patent settlement with Pfizer Inc. delayed the entrance of lower-priced generics into the market.
Direct-purchaser plaintiffs' separate bid for class certification had been scheduled for Oct. 17, according to the Monday letter. Ranbaxy Laboratories said it is prepared to present its arguments on that motion and "would be happy to do so if the court wishes," but that it needs a delay for the Oct. 16 hearing because its counsel handling the end payor certification bid is stuck in Israel amid the violence following recent attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The company also said in its letter that its pending motion for summary judgment should be ruled on after the two class certification bids are resolved "in order to avoid due process concerns related to one-way intervention," but added that Ranbaxy Laboratories is also prepared to argue in favor of its early win bid at the Oct. 17 hearing without delay if the court deems it necessary.
Delaying the Oct. 16 hearing will also allow the parties to engage in further discussions before a settlement conference, which the letter states U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert has been calling for. Ranbaxy Laboratories said it is "not sure whether these efforts will be successful or not," but that the requested postponement will allow the parties to work with Judge Arpert more before the conference begins, as well.
The letter's author, Arnold B. Calmann of Saiber LLC, referred a request for comment to Kirkland & Ellis LLP, which declined to comment. Both firms represent Ranbaxy Laboratories in the case.
The proposed classes and the pharmaceutical companies have been mired in litigation surrounding Lipitor for more than a decade, including a recent dispute within the end payor group as some California plaintiffs sought to move their share of the claims from the Garden State to the Golden State.
Counsel for the end payor plaintiffs did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Ranbaxy is represented by Jay P. Lefkowitz, Devora W. Allon and Alexandra I. Russell of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Arnold B. Calmann of Saiber LLC.
The end payor plaintiffs are represented by Lisa Rodriguez of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, Sharon Robertson of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Kenneth A. Wexler of Wexler Boley & Elgersma LLP, Michael Buchman of Motley Rice LLC and Chad Holtzman of Grant & Eisenhofer PA.
The case is Burlington Drug Co., Inc. et al. v. Pfizer, Inc. et al., case number 3:12-cv-02389, in the U.S. District Court for the District Court of New Jersey.
--Additional reporting by Kelly Lienhard. Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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