Certain plaintiffs in the Digitek litigation have filed for mass tort designation in the State of New Jersey, according to a notice filed on the New Jersey Judiciary mass tort web site. Earlier this year, defendant initiated a nationwide recall of Digitek products, stating that tablets with double the appropriate dosage had possibly been released to the public. It said digitalis toxicity was possible in patients with renal failure.

Previously, some plaintiffs had moved for centralized management, but not mass tort designation, of all New Jersey state-court litigation involving the drug Digitek and assignment of that litigation to Bergen County. Anyone wishing to comment on or object to this second application regarding the Digitek  state-court litigation is to provide such comments or objections in writing, with relevant supporting documentation, to the Administrative Office of the Courts, by December 1, 2008. After that date the N.J. Supreme Court will consider and act on both applications regarding Digitek and any comments received.

At the federal level, the judge in the newly-created Digitek federal multidistrict litigation issued an order appointing lead and liaison counsel for the plaintiffs as well as the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. See In Re: Digitek Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1968, JPMDL.; No. 08-md-1968, S.D. W.Va.). Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia appointed Carl N. Frankovitch of Frankovitch, Anetakis, Conatonio & Simon, Fred Thompson III of Motley Rice, and Harry F. Bell Jr. of Bell & Bands, as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. Bell is also liaison counsel for the plaintiffs. Previously, Chief Judge Goodwin appointed Rebecca A. Betts of Allen, Guthrie & Thomas as defendants’ liaison counsel.

Earlier in the fall, the federal court held a pretrial conference jointly with Magistrate Judge Mary E. Stanley and advised the parties of its intention to coordinate heavily with the judges and counsel involved in the state Digitek cases, especially in West Virginia and New Jersey where a majority of the state cases have been filed.