This case was last updated from U.S. District Courts on 04/04/2021 at 08:13:44 (UTC).

Mayor and City Council Of Baltimore v. Glaxosmithkline LLC, et al

Case Summary

On November 12, 2020, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore ("Plaintiffs"), represented by Laina M. Herbert of Grant & Eisenhofer PA and Martin Eugene Wolf of Gordon, Wolf & Carney, Chtd, filed a civil action against GlaxoSmithKline, LLC ("GSK"), represented by Dennis J. Lawson of Dechert LLP, and several other defendants (collectively, “Defendants”), seeking declaratory and equitable relief, damages, restitution, disgorgement, and civil penalties for alleged violations of Maryland law in connection with Defendants' practices in manufacturing, designing, distributing, supplying, marketing, promoting, advertising, and/or selling ranitidine and/or Zantac for decades to Baltimore residents. This case was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida with Judge Robin L. Rosenberg presiding.

In the complaint, the Plaintiffs alleged that the Defendant’s Zantac/ranitidine products contain extremely unsafe levels of a toxic, carcinogenic substance known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine ("NDMA") but they allegedly withheld from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, and the Baltimore public the known dangers associated with their Zantac/ranitidine products. As a result of this conduct, Plaintiffs alleged the Defendants have committed a public nuisance in violation of Maryland law, and breached their duties of care under Maryland law. In addition, the Defendants described as Brand Manufacturer Defendants in the complaint have also allegedly violated the Maryland Consumer Protection Act ("MCPA").

The Plaintiffs alleged that “NDMA is a carcinogen. In the early 1900s, NDMA was a chemical byproduct of making rocket fuel. Currently, NDMA is not produced in pure form or commercially used in the United States, except for research purposes…. The FDA recognizes the danger of NDMA, and has set a daily acceptable limit on NDMA in pharmaceuticals of 96 nanograms ("ng"), in a single dose of Zantac.” The Plaintiffs further allege that “The highest level of NDMA detected by the FDA in valsartan tablets was 20.19 micrograms ("ug")/tablet or 20,190 ng/tablet. In the case of valsartan, the NDMA was an impurity caused by a manufacturing defect, and thus, NDMA was found in only some products containing valsartan. Here, however, ranitidine poses a greater safety risk than any of the recently recalled valsartan tablets because not only is NDMA a byproduct of the ranitidine molecule, but the levels observed in recent testing show NDMA levels in excess of 3,000,000 ng.”

The Plaintiff laid down three claims for relief. The first claim for relief filed against the Defendants is for alleged violations of Maryland Consumer Protection Act, Maryland Code, Title 13. The second and third claims against all Defendants are for alleged violations of the common law doctrine of public nuisance, as well as alleged negligence in its parens patriae capacity and pursuant to its chartered police power.

In the prayer for relief, the Plaintiff has requested the court to determine damages according to proof and to declare that Defendants have violated statutes stated above, award punitive and other damages sufficient to punish Defendants' alleged malicious, willful, reckless, and/or wanton misconduct and deter others from engaging in similar alleged misconduct in the future, and to pass an order for restitution and disgorgement of revenues obtained as a result of alleged violations of law as described above.

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Case Details Parties Documents Dockets

 

Case Details

  • Case Number:

    9:21-CV-80245

  • Filing Date:

    02/03/2021

  • Case Status:

    Disposed - Other Disposed

  • Case Type:

    Personal Injury - Medical/Pharmaceutical Product Liability

Judge Details

Presiding Judge

Robin L. Rosenberg

 

Party Details

Defendants

Giant of Maryland, LLC

Chattem Inc.

Wakefern Food Corp.

Rite Aid Corporation

Appco Pharma LLC

Novitium Pharma LLC

Glaxosmithkline LLC

Albertsons Companies

Pfizer, Inc.

Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC

ShopRite of Perring Parkway, LLC

Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC

Ani Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Harris Teeter, LLC

Sanofi U.S. Services Inc.

Safeway Inc.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Lannet Company, Inc.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.

Walgreens Co.

14 More Parties Available

Attorney/Law Firm Details

Defendant Attorneys

Perie Reiko Koyama

Sean Hennessy

Cecilia Orozco

Ryan Michael Duffy

Dennis J. Lawson

Christopher Kip Schwartz

Jonathan A. Direnfeld

Taylor T. Lankford

Douglas Hibshman

Other Attorneys

Anna G. Kornilova

Laina M. Herbert

Kamil Ismail

Namrata Loomba

Ann Marie Duffy

Martin Eugene Wolf

William Halladay White, Jr.

Dana Petersen Moore

Keith Michael Lusby

Kyle J. McGee

 

Court Documents

#85

#84

#83

#82

#81

#4

77 #1

*Restricted*

#77

#6

#5

#4

3 #1

Case Information Report

#3

1 #4

Exhibit State Court Civil Cover Sheet

1 #3

Exhibit State Court Complaint

1 #2

Exhibit Slip Op

1 #1

Exhibit Transfer Order

#1

127 More Documents Available
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Docket Entries

  • 04/02/2021
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  • Docket(#85) Transmittal Letter Sent with Order Remanding Case to: Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City. State Court Case Number: 1:21-cv-00041 (mc) (Entered: 04/02/2021)

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  • 04/02/2021
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  • Docket(#84) ORDER granting ( 3015 in case 9:20-md-02924-RLR) Plaintiff the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore's Motion to Remand. The case 9:21-cv-80245-RLR Mayor and City Counsel of Baltimore v. GlaxoSmithKline, et al is hereby REMANDED to the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City. Signed by Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on 4/2/2021. Related Cases: 9:20-md-02924-RLR, 9:21-cv-80245-RLR. See attached document for full details. (mc) (Entered: 04/02/2021)

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  • 04/01/2021
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  • Docket(#83) ORDER granting ( 3015 in case 9:20-md-02924-RLR) Plaintiff's Motion to Remand. Signed by Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on 4/1/2021. Related Cases: 9:20-md-02924-RLR, 9:21-cv-80245-RLR. See attached document for full details. (mc) (Entered: 04/01/2021)

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  • 03/10/2021
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  • Docket(#82) SUPPLEMENT to Defendants' Joint Statement Concerning Removal by Appco Pharma LLC (Orozco, Cecilia) (Entered: 03/10/2021)

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  • 03/04/2021
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  • Docket(#81) NOTICE by Perrigo Research & Development Company of Partial Withdrawal of Defendant's Notice of Removal (Ismail, Kamil) (Entered: 03/04/2021)

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  • 02/16/2021
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  • Docket(#80) ORDER OF CONSOLIDATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE CLOSE-OUT. Signed by Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on 2/16/2021. See attached document for full details. (mc) (Entered: 02/16/2021)

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  • 02/03/2021

  • Docket(#79) MDL Transfer In Case Receipt from District of Maryland. Case Number 1:21-cv-00041 with documents 1-76. Assigned FLSD Case Number 9:21-cv-80245-RLR on 2/3/2021. Re: FLSD MDL Case Number 9:20-md-02924-RLR. (mc) (Entered: 02/03/2021)

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  • 02/03/2021

  • Docket(#78) Clerks Notice of Judge Assignment to Judge Robin L. Rosenberg. (mc) (Entered: 02/03/2021)

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  • 02/03/2021
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  • Docket(#77) Case transferred in from Maryland; Case Number 1:21-cv-00041. Electronic file including transfer order and docket sheet received. .(mc). (Entered: 02/03/2021)

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  • 02/02/2021

  • DocketSTAY LIFTED. (bmhs, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 02/02/2021)

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69 More Docket Entries
  • 01/11/2021
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  • Docket(#7) Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply to Plaintiff's Complaint by Perrigo Research & Development Company. (Attachments: #1 Text of Proposed Order Proposed Order)(Ismail, Kamil) (Entered: 01/11/2021)

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  • 01/08/2021
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  • Docket(#6) MOTION to Remand to State Court by Mayor and City Council Of Baltimore (Attachments: #1 Memorandum in Support, #2 Attachment Certificate of Service, #3 Attachment Proposed Order)(Wolf, Martin) (Entered: 01/08/2021)

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  • 01/08/2021
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  • Docket(#5) NOTICE by Perrigo Research and Development Company re #1 Notice of Removal, Civil Cover Sheet (Ismail, Kamil) Modified on 1/11/2021 (bmhs, Deputy Clerk). (Entered: 01/08/2021)

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  • 01/08/2021
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  • Docket(#4) Standing Order Concerning Removal. Signed by Judge George Levi Russell, III on 1/8/2021. (bmhs, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 01/08/2021)

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  • 01/08/2021

  • DocketDeficiency Notice to Perrigo Research and Development Company. Your Local Rule 103.3 disclosure statement has not been filed. The Statement must be filed by 1/15/2021 (bmhs, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 01/08/2021)

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  • 01/08/2021
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  • Docket(#2) QC NOTICE: #1 Notice of Removal was filed incorrectly. **The following attachments or exhibits are missing - Civil Cover Sheet. To correct this problem, file Civil Cover Sheet using the event Notice (Other) and link Civil Cover Sheet to #1 Notice of Removal. (bmhs, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 01/08/2021)

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  • 01/06/2021

  • DocketTHE ABOVE DOCUMENTS (3) ARE COPIES OF ORIGINAL PAPERS FILED IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF MARYLAND FOR BALTIMORE CITY. (bmhs, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 01/08/2021)

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  • 01/06/2021
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  • Docket(#3) COMPLAINT against Albertsons Companies, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Ani Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Apotex Corp., Appco Pharma LLC, Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., CVS Health Corporation, CVS Pharmacy, Inc., Chattem, Inc., Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Inc., Giant of Maryland, LLC, Glaxosmithkline LLC, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA, Harris Teeter, LLC, Lannet Company, Inc., Novitium Pharma LLC, Perrigo Research & Development Company, Pfizer, Inc., Rite Aid Corporation, Safeway Inc., Sandoz Inc., Sanofi US Services Inc., Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, Shoprite of Liberty Heights, LLC, Shoprite of Perring Parkway, LLC, Strides Pharma, Inc., Target Corporation, Teligent, Inc., The Kroger Co., Wakefern Food Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., Walgreens Co. filed by Mayor and City Council Of Baltimore. (Attachments: #1 Case Information Report)(bmhs, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 01/08/2021)

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  • 01/06/2021

  • DocketCase Assigned to Judge George Levi Russell, III. (ko, Deputy Clerk) (Entered: 01/06/2021)

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  • 01/06/2021
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  • Docket(#1) NOTICE OF REMOVAL from Baltimore City Circuit Court, case number CV-24-CV-20-004788. ( Filing fee $ 402 receipt number 0416-9047050), filed by Perrigo Research and Development Company. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit Transfer Order, #2 Exhibit Slip Op, #3 Exhibit State Court Complaint, #4 Exhibit State Court Civil Cover Sheet)(Ismail, Kamil) (Entered: 01/06/2021)

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