A federal judge has set 2027 deadlines for complaints and responses in the multidistrict litigation over spinal cord stimulators made by Abbott Laboratories. The FDA is also a defendant.
U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins outlined the schedule during a Nov. 12 case management conference in the Northern District of Illinois, according to a docket entry that day. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized the Abbott cases there Oct. 2 as MDL No. 3194.
Plaintiffs must file a master complaint against Abbott and a separate master complaint under the Administrative Procedure Act against the FDA by Jan. 11, 2027. Short-form complaints are due Feb. 10, 2027.
Abbott must respond to the master complaint by April 9, 2027. The FDA has 60 days after service to respond to its complaint.
The court also scheduled an in-person hearing on the appointment of plaintiffs’ leadership for the week of Dec. 14, though the specific date has not been set. Motions for those positions are due Nov. 19, with responses due Dec. 1.
The parties must also file a joint status report by Nov. 19 proposing a scheduling order. The court plans to put scheduling for all 2027 status hearings on the December agenda.
Abbott faced 26 pending federal lawsuits across 13 districts when the panel centralized the cases, Becker’s reported. Plaintiffs alleged the implants can migrate, deliver painful shocks, cause nerve damage and fail, often requiring revision or removal surgery. They also alleged Abbott modified the devices through FDA premarket approval supplements without adequate safety testing.
An Abbott spokesperson previously told Becker’s the company disagrees with the allegations and stands behind the safety, quality and performance of its spinal cord stimulation systems.
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