Trial Dates Proposed for Baby Formula Bellwethers, Could Start in May
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A newly filed court document has revealed the probable start dates for the bellwether trials amongst the hundreds of baby formula lawsuits.
The document, filed on Friday in the Illinois-based multidistrict litigation (MDL), included dates proposed by the parties for all four bellwether trials. The first proposed trial date is on May 5, 2025. The next three trials would begin on Aug. 11, 2025, Nov. 3, 2025 and Feb. 2, 2026.
MDL Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer will still need to approve the trial dates, and any questions the court has will be addressed at an upcoming status conference. Regardless, this is a notable step toward the long-anticipated bellwether cases getting underway.
A May 2025 start date had first been estimated in June. Last month, the trial order was officially set for the four cases.
Nearly 600 active cases are pending in the baby formula MDL, claiming that brands such as Similac and Enfamil played a role in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants.
NEC is a serious intestinal condition that can cause intestinal perforation, bacterial infection and life-threatening issues like sepsis. According to the National Institute of Health, it has a mortality rate as high as 50%.
Research has shown for decades that there may be a link between formula-feeding of premature infants and NEC.
The first bellwether case to go to trial will be Ericka Mar, as Administratrix of the Estate of RaiLee Mar v. Abbott Laboratories. That case centers on RaiLee Mar, who was born prematurely, fed Similac formula in the hospital, and then developed NEC and eventually died.
That case centers on RaiLee Mar, who was born prematurely and fed Similac formula in the NICU. She then developed NEC and eventually died.
The first three cases set for bellwether trial list Abbott Laboratories, the makers of Similac, as the defendant. The fourth case lists Mead Johnson, the manufacturer of Enfamil.
Baby Formula Trials Already Seeing Success in State Court
While the newly scheduled bellwether trials represent the first cases within the MDL to go to trial, several cases have already gone to trial in state court.
Those trial results suggest that plaintiffs may see positive results in the bellwethers.
In July, a St. Louis jury awarded $495 million to the family of a premature infant who suffered neurological damage and developed NEC after being fed Similac.
That verdict came just a few months after an Illinois jury awarded $60 million to the mother of an infant who was fed Enfamil and died from NEC.
Another baby formula case got underway recently in Missouri, with jury selection beginning last week.
It is unclear how the bellwether trials in the MDL will play out, but multiple wins in state court among similar cases suggest that there is a path to success for plaintiffs.
Editor Lindsay Donaldson contributed to this article.