THE CLIENT DUMP - AstraZeneca Seroquel - The Miller Firm LLC - Saiontz & Kirk, PA "YouHaveALawyer", Ennis&Ennis PA - Pharmaceutical Tort Mills, Sleazy Liars, and Greedy Scoundrels

Micheal J. Miller - Chief Liar @ The Miller Firm LLC

Saiontz & Kirk, PA -  Non-Participant Co-counsel & Tort Legal Mill case gatherers & sellers

THE CLIENT DUMP - AstraZeneca Seroquel - The Miller Firm LLC - Saiontz & Kirk, PA "YouHaveALawyer", Ennis&Ennis PA - Pharmaceutical Tort Mills, Sleazy Liars, & Greedy Scoundrels

Well, we all knew this was coming....we just didn't know exactly how The Miller Firm LLC was going to try justifying their constant lies and magical settlement approval % manipulation. Today I received a copy of this letter below along with some enlightening correspondence from a long time trusted source.

My source stated that this "DUMP" letter is packed with misrepresentation & outright lies that have been conjured up by The Miller Firm LLC to avoid the appearance and undeniable reality that they have or are in the active process of a targeted and purposeful client dump in an unethical scheme to force a rejected settlement through solely for self gain.

My source went on to pin point inaccuracies in this DUMP letter starting with deceiving legal speak in the opening sentence stating:

 My "source" unequivocally states that Saiontz & Kirk P.A. was not hired to investigate a claim, but to represent the "source" in a valid, evidenced, and documented case against AstraZeneca.

The "source" stated that they did not hire The Miller Firm LLC to represent them in any way, shape, or form. In fact, Saiontz & Kirk P.A. sold the "sources" case to The Miller Firm LLC, while having no active involvement or participation as Co-counsel in the Seroquel Litigation from that time on. In fact all client questions & inquires were automatically forwarded to The Miller Firm LLC without their response once the sale had occurred.

Now, onto the most important point and evidential lie in this "DUMP" letter. My source stated that they "NEVER" "EVER" requested that their case be closed. In fact they sent in a valid appeal letter outlining their concerns within the 7 day time limit constraints The Miller Firm LLC & the Garretson Resolution Group placed on appeals, and for signing onto or not signing onto the settlement process.

 That appeal  letter was completely ignored by The Miller Firm LLC. In fact on numerous occasions in direct correspondence with The Miller Firm LLC; The Miller Firm Representatives stated that they were not going to take a single case to court, none were worthy of trial, and there would be absolutely no renegotiation of the settlement terms with AstraZeneca.

The Miller Firm LLC is acting today & as were they then; they are the sole cause or catalyst behind any and all separation of legal representation. For The Miller Firm LLC to even imply that the "Source" requested that their case be closed constitutes a totally fraudulent statement and most egregious blatant lie.

Who shall you the reader believe? Let's just match & compare the signatures on the "DUMP" letter below, to the THREAT letter Mr. Miller denied he wrote to Reuters News and Insight. In fact Miller & his firm, (including co-counsel) all appear to have some serious problems related to telling the truth and subsequent honesty.

So why might you think a request for being relieved of contractual obligation or being DUMPED directly by the Miller Firm LLC makes such a huge difference in this settlement going forward?

  Because The Miller Firm appears to using this misinformation/lies to drop clients from equations which directly skews the settlement acceptance percentages for this pay out proposal.

So instead of having a 40% rejection rate or 249 client rejections. The Miller Firm appears to have jettisoned most of those clients, and then went about the nasty business of recalculating the approval percentage numbers with the approximately 374 remaining approval clients to reach that magical 93% approval threshold to submit to AstraZeneca to cash in on their pay day.

The only problem here is that the clients didn't ask for their cases to be closed...they simply wanted to be properly represented or sent a notice of being released because they rejected the settlement by their original counsel. The Miller Firm is playing unethical slight of hand here...and are clearly attempting to erase the voices & rights of those injured parties that rejected this insulting settlement by closing their cases and then acting like they never existed to the calculations, the courts and to AstraZeneca... That is about as sleazy, disingenuous, and underhanded as it gets folks...

This is the 7.4 million dollar question that must be answered? Has The Miller Firm LLC & Co-counsel conspired against one segment of clients they have a sworn legal & ethical obligation too represent; to unequally represent another segment of clients they represent, solely for their own self gain & personal business interest?

This is the heart felt message I am sending out to the DOJ "Department Of Justice" & Federal Courts; are you listening to the actual injured parties and clients yet.....please do! 

AstraZeneca Seroquel Injury Lawsuit - Year End Update & Review 2011

AstraZeneca Seroquel Injury Lawsuit - Year End Update & Review 2011

It’s the same deafening silence coming from the plaintiff law firms as 2011 draws to an ominous close. There has been lot’s of baseless bluster about final offer packets being sent out? Some more rumors about some of the plaintiff firms mailing out checks to the chagrin of many unsatisfied and angry injured parties. The charade has been unmasked.

It appears the plaintiff law firms have once again crawled into their profiteering black holes, while ignoring the concerns and complaints of their clients that they have both a sworn professional & ethical duty to serve. Injured parties are still being left in the dark about any & all particulars that have gone into these “secret” settlement negotiations. Everything is very hush-hush and being kept from those who (injured parties) have the most to lose from these questionable and dubious plaintiff law firm practices.

Those who have not signed onto this nefarious backroom settlement scam are now sitting back wondering, watching, & waiting for their law firms to drop the ball, their cases, and send them packing.

This is when the expected & much anticipated wave of legal malpractice suits should begin in earnest. The first cannon ball shots can almost being heard splashing across the legal-ship bow; as a war and its many battles surely lay ahead.

From those I have communicated with regarding this litigation; injured parties have not been given even the simple choice of whether to accept this token insult offer or not in any of the settlement offers or paperwork. This settlement in essence is being forced upon or ram rotted down their throats of injured parties against their will & best interest by greedy law firms that are solely looking out for their own financial interest at this juncture.

Injured party appeals & voiced concerns have been ignored and dismissed at every turn (a couple of cases have been highlighted on this Blog in an earlier post). Informational inquiries have been met with repeated resistance; in many cases misinformation & open hostility. In fact, many plaintiff law firms with little doubt have been shown to be actively working in an oppositional/adversarial role to those they are supposed to advocate for & represent. The vast majority of plaintiff law firms in the Seroquel Litigation obviously have not worked in the best interest of their clients. Shall we have to once again remind everyone that is these law firms’ solemn charge and most basic legal obligation?

What we have going on today is an unconscionable miscarriage of justice occurring right before our eyes. Innocent Injured parties are asking again that the Department of Justice investigate this ongoing travesty of unscrupulous practices being perpetrated upon victims of legal & corporate impropriety.  The American Bar Association should be taking the lead in examining these ambulance chaser law firm profiteers, while holding them professionally accountable for their detestable actions; yet, they appear to have buried their heads in the sand accepting these blatant unethical legal practices & corruption to continue unchallenged.

Does the American public have to be reminded that a corrupted, dysfunctional, and biased legal process/system undermines the very basic principles of our Republic; while leading us down an inevitable darkened path toward oppressive governing tyranny & resulting societal anarchy?

The time is now to draw the line in the sand, and to make a stand for what is right. Change will not happen without us taking action and making our own personal sacrifice. The only question remaining is who is able & willing to finally step up to the plate & fight for what is right, just, and in the best interest of us all.

What can you do?

1)     Reject the “supposed” Final Offer – It’s your Choice…

2)     Force your law firms hand; demand a trial or to renegotiation of this settlement…

3)     If your law firm drops you as a client or refuses to listen; seek legal counsel to represent you in legal malpractice litigation against these firms.

4)     File complaints with the Department of Justice

5)     Write and file complaints with the Court

6)     File complaints with your State & National Bar Association

7)     Contact, Write, or Call you’re Congressional and Senate representatives: demand an investigation….Do not allow AstraZeneca to be rewarded for the purposeful maiming & killing of many tens of thousands all in the name of unquenchable corporate greed.

8)     The only way to assure that these kinds of corporate crimes and legal injustices will continue; is to do nothing…

9)      Remember, you get the last word & final say on any settlement; ***not the law firm***...Do not enrich these unscrupulous law firms for not serving your best interest…

10)  For those Lawyers reading! It’s far past time to hold your peers accountable!

 Speak Out!! Make Your Voice Heard!! Be Persistent!!

The Miller Firm LLC, Garretson, and "You Have A Lawyer" Saiontz & Kirk,P.A. - AstraZeneca Seroquel Litigation - The envelope please, open the damned envelope - the losers are ??

An Anonymous source once again has provided this blog with a supposedly very ""hush hush" confidential information regarding the Seroquel Litigation that once again gives us a startling glimpse into the dark and shady legal under world of tort pharmaceutical litigation. I must honestly laugh out loud at the childish confidentiality games these firms are playing with their clients.

This latest following correspondence is in regards to an appeal letter sent HERE by this my source to The Miller Firm LLC, Garretson Resolution Group, and "You Have A Lawyer" Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. regarding their original settlement offer packet HERE.

It appears from the back & forth correspondence that I have had with this source, that these law firms completely ignored every major and pertinent issue that was addressed in the original appeals letter. But they have even gone further in their sleazy gamesmanship by recalculating and changing the rules of the settlement game merely as it suits them. In this case they have actually reduced their settlement offer significantly. Is this targeted retribution or just blatant incompetence...either way, this no doubt highlights the shameful and unprofessional conduct of these firms...

These are the highlights that make all this so disturbing & perplexing:

1. The original gross offer was reduced from $11,595.91 (-$1344.64) to $10,251.27 after the appeal
2. The Net settlement offer figure was reduced from $5,967.09 (-$748.83) to $5,218.26 after the appeal.
3. How could that possibly happen one might ask? The law firm simply changed the disbursement criteria arbitrarily adding and subtracting where ever they wanted without the input or consultation with the clients they supposedly represent.
4. They added an after 2004 seroquel use deduction of 20%
5. in seems they have Jettisoned 6 clients
6. created a larger hold back slush fund for 40 missing or dual represented cases  
7. Appear to have changed age requirement from 18 years old to 19 years old?
8. developed a new arbitrary point system for offer allocation

Of course, what still has not added or considered for obvious self gain reasoning by the law firms is that the settlement is not based upon the plaintiff injuries; it is based solely on the cost of AstraZeneca continuing to defend these claims.

If they are going to base this settlement on injuries, then AstraZeneca first needs to come forward and publicly admit that Seroquel did in fact cause the claimed injuries to be able to use this type of format or methodology in calculating settlement awards.

So aside from the glaring fact: the settlement calculation methodology leaves out so many other pertinent variables that it is virtually useless in determining equitable settlement distribution amounts. Just a small sample of the omitted criteria worth mentioning are...

1. What was the drug prescribed for...off label or unapproved use
2. actual financial loses incurred by the injured party (lost wages, employment, other)
3. past, present, and future medical expenses determination for each client
4. pain, suffering, and psychological damages incurred by the drug & aftermath
5. Was the prescribing doctor a spokesperson, paid representative, receiving actual monetary benefits for prescribing Seroquel (conflicts of interest) from AstraZeneca
6. Were the claimants properly warned about the dangers/side effects of Seroquel by their treating or prescribing doctors....
7. What were the negative effects and damage caused by the burying of important data, the off label marketing, and misinformation campaigns waged by AstraZeneca to both patients and doctors on each client injury..
8. are there litigants that have already received an award settlement for similar or the same injury claims they are now making for Seroquel, from another drug..
9. and the list goes on and on...

The bottom line is this....the source's appeal was ignored...and then it was subjected to a new calculation methodology as retribution for making an appeal. There is absolutely zero doubt who the law firms are working for...they are first working for themselves and self financial gain...they are also working as agents representing AstraZeneca attempting to force this settlement upon injured parties...and the worst of all they have completely abandoned their professional and ethical responsibility to serve each individual client's best interest...In Fact: as I read through all the many post, complaints, evidence, legal jargon, mind boggling settlement offers, threat letters, the strong arm tactics ,and see the way injured parties are being treated by these law firms....I can draw no other conclusion than The Miller Firm LLC, "You Have A Lawyer" Saiontz & Kirk, P.A., and other like firms involved in this & other drug related tort litigation never have intended to meet or full-fill their professional fiduciary duties to those who entrusted their cases and broken lives to them.

Guess what you legal sleaze balls; the damaged and forever negatively altered lives caused by AstraZeneca's drug Seroquel are not your cash cows or bargaining poker chips merely created for your own selfish gain and shameful profiteering...these are real lives, feeling real pain, are experiencing/enduring long suffering, and a diminished quality of life...You would be very wise to remember that stark reality...before it's comes back to bite you hard...

 

This is a counter appeals offer supplied & relayed to me by my anonymous source, directed to AstraZeneca, The Miller Firm LLC, Garretson Resolution Group, and "You Have A Lawyer" Saiontz & Kirk, P.A.: that AstraZeneca publicly admit that Seroquel has indeed caused thousands of deaths &/or injuries including diabetes and related conditions. That they indeed purposely mislead and lied to the public for their own profiteering gain. And that AstraZeneca supplies a written detailed public apology for all to read. Then my source will personally & happily decline any monetary award (ask for nothing 0) related to the harm and health damage caused by AstraZeneca's drug Seroquel. 

How the AstraZeneca Seroquel Plaintiff Law Firms have turned a "TORT" into a very profitable bastardized version of class action

A class action lawsuit is a complaint filed by one party on behalf of everyone in a similar situation. Such lawsuits look at the big picture and are useful, for example, to force a company to take a legal action.

A mass tort lawsuit is different. Like class action lawsuit, a mass tort combines many legal cases into a single trial, but unlike a class action each plaintiff is treated as an individual with their own individual lawsuit. The difference between a mass tort and an individual case is that in a mass tort lawsuit many similar cases are argued together saving time and money that can be better spent preparing to make the best legal case for you. Mass torts pool legal resources from many similar cases to benefit each unique case.

So how does a tort get turned into a class action...it's called a lump sum settlement...a law firm settles all cases they represent against a defendant (in this case AstraZeneca) for a one large lump sum amount of dollars & by virtue of the settlement deal guidelines guarantee full participation & compliance. At this point the law firm takes on the role of settlement marketeer for the defendants by setting up some arbitrary criteria ( that means that each individual's actual loses, injuries, or particular circumstances are not considered in coming up with an settlement offer figure ) for disbursement of funds. The plaintiff law firm then presents these offers to their clients in a "take it or leave it" threating manner sales pitch...the clients are given in reality a choice to either accept the offer (whether it's fair or equitable or individually derived) or the law firm will drop them as a client. In fact, it's set up in such a way, that even if a law firms drops/stops representing a high percentage of their clients; they will still make the same profit from this set lump sum settlement; as long as the eager defendant signs off on the agreement (which is virtually an automatic done deal from the get go).

This happens even if the plaintiff firms never take a single case to trial, or does the basic work of gathering adequate information, particulars of each individual case, or without investigating each of their clients individual claims to come up with actual loses, suffering, & injuries incurred by the defendants actions.

Today, Tort has become a nothing more than the new & more profitable class action, without having to ever prove a case, have the court or a jury determine what each individual case is worth in dollar terms based on the evidence. It also takes the court completely out of distribution and criteria used in such negotiated settlements.  In fact much the limited criteria the law firms are using in this inequitable distribution of funds schemes, and the limited arbitrary criteria methodologies being used, are the very same criteria these law firms were either unwilling or unable to prove in a court of law.

So tort today is basically when your lawyer makes a secret back room deal with the defendants for a set amount of money, and then in truth stop operating or working for those they were supposed to individually represent; but instead become a working agents for the opposition defendants.

To makes matters worse, (as in the Seroquel Litigation) the defendants (offending party) get to control the entire settlement process, and also get the final say in each individual case/settlement.

To put this in some form of simple context: it's as if the Big Bad Wolf was placed in charge of Little Red Riding-hood's complete Itinerary, was given Carte blanche to grandma's house, full reign over all conspiring events, and then is handsomely rewarded after The Wolf finishes devouring Little Miss Riding-hood. The injured parties are being virtually eaten alive; first by AstraZeneca's Seroquel; that have left them injured and suffering, and then again by greedy and self centered law firms that are only looking out for the own financial bottom line....Have they treated each individual they represent with the care, dignity, diligence, and duty they were given and hired to preform? the answer is NO!  Have they lived up to their professional and ethical obligations as legal professionals? The answer is absolutely NO...

The only question left to be answered now: is who in the legal profession is going to stand up for the "people" they are are duty bound to represent, and underlying basic guiding principles of the law & justice in America?

The people are waiting to hear from you.....America is waiting....

The Miller Firm LLC, Garretson, and "YouHaveALawyer" Saiontz & Kirk,P.A. - AstraZeneca Seroquel Litigation - Appeal, The first thing we must do...

Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71–78

Dick the butcher, a character no one remembers, utters one of the few memorable lines from the entire three-part Henry the Sixth cycle. Dick's Utopian idea to kill all England's lawyers is his addition to the promises of the traitorous Jack Cade, who envisions a quasi-communistic social revolution, with himself installed as autocrat. Cade alleges that all lawyers do is shuffle parchments back and forth in a systematic attempt to ruin the common people. His demagoguery is simply a calculated appeal to simple folks' longing to be left alone. Yet one may recognize Cade's moral failings and still sympathize with Dick.

In 1987, three Supreme Court Justices convened for a mock trial, in which representatives of the poetaster Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford (1550–1604), challenged Shakespeare's authorship of the plays. The president of American University in Washington, D.C., which sponsored the event, "drew some nervous laughter from the legal contingent in the crowd," the New York Times reported, "when he yielded to the temptation to quote the world's most-quoted English author (whoever he was) by saying, 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers. . . .'" Unsurprisingly, the justices ruled in favor of the Bard of Avon.

The Miller Firm LLC, Garretson, and "You Have A Lawyer" Saiontz & Kirk,P.A. - AstraZeneca Seroquel Litigation - Appeal, the first thing we must do...

Once again I have received correspondence from a reliable and trusted anonymous source related to the Seroquel Litigation. It appears while The Miller Firm LLC and the Garretson Resolution Group were sending out threatening intimidation letters to this Seroquel litigant over the disclosure of their  token settlement secret backroom dealings with AstraZeneca; there was a settlement appeals letter sent to them that we may assume they were none to happy about.

My source passed along to me that they had called Saiontz & Kirk P.A. seeking information related a response to the settlement appeals letter that had been sent all the client law firms involved in this settlement proceedings. Saiontz & Kirk,P.A told my source that they had absolutely nothing to do with the Seroquel Litigation @ this juncture, and referred their supposed client to call the The Miller Firm to inquire about any information regarding the Seroquel litigation or settlement appeal letter. 

That’s some invested representative co-counsel, which is taking a nice chunk of 40% of the 40% + Expenses & Fees the lawyers will take from this settlement offer if approved? I can only guess that Saiontz & Kirk are too busy drumming up new clients to sell off to other law firms right now to be concerned about a client they sold to another law firm and subsequently down the proverbial river…. I guess “You Have A Lawyer” really means “You Had A Lawyer - Who Doesn’t Give A Damn”. Let us look at this combined partial list of drug and device case pimping that is occurring from The Miller Firm & Saiontz & Kirk below…

Zimmer Knee Replacement 

Hip Replacement Injury

 Shoulder Pain Pump 

Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch

NuvaRing 

Bausch & Lomb 

Heart Stents

Actos

Accutane

Chantix  

Fosamax  

Yaz / Yasmin

Zocor / Simvastatin

Zoloft

Depakote

Diflucan

Topamax

Avandia

Darvon / Darvocet

Propecia

Reglan (Metoclopramide)

Gadolinium based MRI Contrast Agents

NuvaRing

Byetta

Fentanyl (Duragesic Patch / Actiq Lollipop)

DePuy ASR Hip Recall

DePuy Pinnacle Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacement

Wright Profemur Hip Replacement

 Zimmer Durom Cup Artificial Hip Replacement Lawsuits

Zimmer NexGen Knee Replacements

Transvaginal Surgical Mesh

Bard Avaulta Vaginal Mesh Problems

Mentor ObTape Vaginal Sling

Bard Recovery IVC Filter and Bard G2 IVC Filter

MRI with Contrast

Denture Cream: Fixodent and PoliGrip

 Yamaha Rhino ATV

Shoulder Pain Management Pumps

Kugel Hernia Repair Mesh 

Then my source called those (not so friendly) people over at the The Miller Firm.

Who was put throught to Kate Hamilton that my source shared was curt in her response to their inquirer about the appeals letter…She said it would get passed along to their nurses for review (Obviously Hamilton had either not read the appeals letter or was just sloughing it off as another meaningless client correspondence that would be not taken seriously). Hamilton did state that they “The Miller Firm” would get something out for their client to have posted on “That Blog” (I can only guess Kate is a big fan of this blog) as soon as they can…there must be nothing quite like the warm caring cordial communication feeling a client receives with a firm that is supposed to be representing their “Best Interest”.

But then again Mr. Miller stated in this Reuters News Article ,that the intimidation letter signed by him was not written or sent by him…..Now that’s what you call an exemplary client trust building moment folks…

I can only take a gander that it was one of those “if the pen doesn’t fit you must acquit” or “I never had sex with that women” historical lapse moments…

Below is listed the Miller Firm staff of ten lawyers that are supposedly handling not only 600 plus cases in the Seroquel litigation; but untold numbers of cases in other pharmaceutical & defective product litigation etc... 

 

Michael J. Miller , Julie B Isen,  Pete Miller, Nancy Guy Armstrong Miller, Bruce Burtoff, M.D., J.D., Tayjes Shah, Nathan Cromley, David J. Dickens, Jeffrey Travers, Kate E. S. Hamilton

Readers should really check out their web site miller firm llc …I would hope someone can answer for me how a firm with just ten lawyers can adequately serve and prepare thousands of cases for trial from a myriad of different pharmaceutical and defective product litigation's at the same time: while still continually advertising and taking on clients from other law firms for even more cases…. I would really like to know how the Miller Law Firm pulls off this type of seemingly Herculean task against some of the Biggest Corporations in the world and their mammoth legal teams without taking some precarious short cuts, or by sacrificing their individual clients’ best interest in the process…? 

Of course, when we look at the Seroquel litigation & the settlement documentation they are now marketing to their clients; we can see much more clearly that this appears to be a settle & profit business first and foremost…Clients appear to be little more than damaged human bargaining chips to be tossed around secret backroom gambling tables in their WIN even when we LOSE litigation poker game….high stakes poker without ever the risk of having to ante up…now, if this isn’t an organized posy scheme…I would like to know how else you would define one?

It appears Mr. Miller likes to make lots of video’s where he feeds the public & clients half baked lawyer speak squawking platitudes in broad generalizations that leaves many more questions than real answers to clients; yet when clients actually call the Miller Firm wanting vital & important information regarding their personal litigation…they get a continual run around, a lack of or misinformation; along with substandard & poor quality service, including little or no personal understanding & attention injured clients should expect & deserve from their supposed responsible & professional legal representation…

Can we assume that the next letters theses ambulance/FDA warning chaser law firms will be sending out; will it be a mass mailing dropping any client that don't go along with their huge profitable for the law firm settlement pay day, while leaving those actual injured parties that they had & still have an ethical and professional obligation to serve in the clients' best interest,
will be left without any reasonable semblance of justice or acceptable representation into the foreseeable future?


Just possibly Shakespeare was correct.....

Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP - representing over 6000 injured clients in the Seroquel Litigation - Not a Single Trial - "Houston, we have a problem"

Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP - representing over 6000 injured clients in the Seroquel Litigation - jumps on the sleazy sell the settlement band wagon - not a single trial? Yet, the State of South Carolina has also hired them to go up against AstraZeneca at actual trial? 

 In a prior post about Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP- Arkansas on this blog, I  highlighted this law firm plaintiff heavy weight in the Seroquel litigation Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP  out of Houston Texas (also known as Houston Associates) along with Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. . These law firms were deemed the lead plaintiff counsel (here page 4) in the Seroquel litigation together compiling over 8000 of the some 28000 injured party cases. We are able to formulate a pretty fair guess that BPB settlement offer to the injured seroquel victims falls pretty close to the W&L offer. Though we can see that each of these law firms have devised their own distribution scheme in an attempt at selling and marketing this low ball AstraZeneca offer to their respective clients.

 

With a little more research it is now apparent that BPB is also representing the State of South Carolina in their litigation against AstraZeneca. 

___________

From pharmagossip blog

AstraZeneca Sues South Carolina to Block Use of Private Lawyers in State's Seroquel Case

When AstraZeneca reached a $68.5 million settlement with 37 states last week for alleged off-label marketing of its Seroquel antipsychotic, seven states with pending Seroquel false marketing cases against AZ stayed on the sidelines. One of them was South Carolina, which sued AstraZeneca for off-label Seroquel marketing in 2009. On Monday, AstraZeneca went on the attack, filing a 22-page declaratory judgment suit against S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson in state court in Spartanburg.AstraZeneca's lawyers at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius allege that Wilson is violating the company's constitutional due process rights by prosecuting a "law enforcement action akin to a criminal proceeding" under the guise of a civil suit. AZ also accuses Wilson of reaching an "unlawful" agreement to split a potentially "staggering"contingency fee among three private plaintiffs lawyers and his own office.
"The underlying litigation, as it now stands, is an orchestrated plan by Attorney General Wilson and private counsel to seek the maximum penalty--in the absence of any actual deception, actual reliance on any actual deception, or actual harm from AstraZeneca's actions," AZ's complaint asserts. "Moreover, the Attorney General and private counsel now have created an enterprise whereby they will jointly attempt to exploit the Attorney General's law enforcement authority, so they can both profit on a massive contingency fee."
The company cites a December 2009 amendment to a fee agreement that grants plaintiffs lawyers F. Kenneth Bailey of Bailey Perrin Bailey, John Simmons of the Simmons Law Firm, and John Belton White Jr. of Harrison, White, Smith& Goggins up to 23 percent of any penalties awarded to the state under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The AG's office would retain ten percent of the contingency fee under the agreement. "Both the Attorney General's and private counsel's financial interest in the 'successful' prosecution of claims against AstraZeneca could be staggeringly high," AZ alleges.South Carolina first filed suit against AstraZeneca in 2009, seeking damages to recover funds the state spent to treat Seroquel side-effects and for reimbursements for alleged off-label Seroquel uses. Wilson's predecessor amended the state's complaint in March 2010, dismissing all claims except for statutory penalties for alleged false statements in Seroquel package inserts. In addition, AZ claims, the state amended its fee agreement to delete a previous provision strictly limiting the private lawyers' recovery to actual damages. (The state's original and amended fee agreements and complaints against AZ are here.)
According to AstraZeneca, Wilson and the state's outside counsel claim AZ must be penalized $5,000 for every Seroquel prescription ever written in South Carolina. That could translate into "at least millions" for the plaintiffs firms, and contingency fees for Attorney General Wilson that "could approximate or exceed the annual budget for his office."
We left messages with Ken Bailey of Bailey Perrin Bailey and with a spokesperson for AG Wilson, but we didn't hear back. AZ lawyers J. Gordon Cooney Jr., Brian Shaffer, and Thomas Sullivan of Morgan Lewis declined to comment.

_____________

What I find somewhat disturbing yet once again, is that Bailey Perrin Bailey is also co-counsel in the state of Arkansas & South Carolina where they will be taking AstraZeneca to actual trial over the drug Seroquel  (2012 in Arkansas - background story here -> from the blog tmap & from bloomberg news).

Yet, BPB has sold out the injured parties they represent in the civil Seroquel litigation in secret backroom deals & a settlement that will enrich BPB in the ball park of some 80+ million dollars in profit. This happens while leaving those injured parties with little or nothing more than a insulting token settlement in the very low thousands. It's mind boggling to see BPB has been hired as co-counsel in the State of Arkansas & South Carolina to represent the public interest when they couldn't even represent the best interest of the 6000+ injured seroquel clients they were ethically & professionally charged with representing the "clients best interest"..?

We now know BPB is reaping in up to a shared 23 percent of any penalties awarded to the states under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act in just one of these sweet heart deals? At up to $5000 dollars per seroquel script written in those states; how many more tens of millions of dollars will BPB gather up in profits while leaving those injured by Seroquel in continued suffering from the adverse effects (which include diabetes and related conditions, while many of those unfortunate victims will be forever mired down in abject poverty) without adequate compensation or proper medical care thanks to the so called lack of representation by BPB...?

We must start questioning the ethics and professionalism being demonstrated in these kinds of seemingly reprehensible behaviors by law firms that appear to be self centered profit driven product litigation machines first and foremost; then if it's convenient they'll maybe decide to serve their client's pitiful interest also.. Especially since we now know BPB reached an agreement with AstraZeneca in the civil litigation to sell & market a low ball settlement offer to their clients with the promise of full compliance & with no or few litigants left outstanding. In fact it appears that any injured party that doesn't jump on board the BPB's own easy 80+ million dollar pay day will no doubt be dumped to the curb without representation once the settlement has been rubber stamped by their new pals over @ AstraZeneca.

Not a bad business deal for these modern day sleazy FDA adverse effect announcement chaser law firms...of course why not lose & screw over the injured party clients by not taking cases to trial that would cost money and take time; when the pay offs are so high and the down side in human toll is so distant and detached from these law firm's ivory tower world....they know FDA is always about to announce the next drug warning or questionable medical procedure that these law firms will be jumping all over with "we get big settlements" advertizing for new suckers to low ball swindle for another massive payday without ever having to take cases to trial...you don't have to take my word for it...check out their web sites and TV commercials...then notice how their sites have been washed clean of Seroquel...or what ever other drug they reached a sleazy secret backroom settlement over?

These law firms want to continue to operate in this profitable secrecy...secret deals and settlements the public or clients never get to see or review..evidence of harmful drug effects that are hidden away in sealed court records that will never make it into the public knowledge base...these bad settlements are not just a horrible travesty to the injuried parties...they are also not in the best interest of the greater public's health and safety..not to even mention the dark stain of injustice this leaves imprinted upon our society and nation for many generations to come..

There are just to many lives at stake, and way too much money involved in this situation for everything to be done in secret without actual client participation and public oversight..there is obviously way too much Hanky Panky in play and far to few answers to be had...

It is far past the time for the Department of Justice and the Attorney General's Office in Washington DC to put down those eight dollar cups of coffee & stop munching on sixteen dollar muffins. & start investigating what is really going on here..Let us make sure our justice system works for those who it's intended to serve...the people & citizens of America.

***If there is a disgruntled Bailey Perrin Bailey or other law firm Injured Seroquel Client who feels they have been wronged or feel this is a corrupted & unfair process...please pass along your offer packet with personal identifying information edited out to be posted on this blog***

Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP- Over 6000 clients in AstraZeneca Seroquel Civil Litigation - Not a Single Trial - Now $$ Arkansas?

Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP - representing over 6000 injured clients in the Seroquel Litigation - jumps on a sleazy settlement - not a single trial? Yet, the State of Arkansas has hired them to go up against AstraZeneca at trial?

I thought it was about time to highlight one the other plaintiff heavy weights in the seroquel litigation Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP  out of Houston Texas (also known as Houston Associates) along with Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. . These law firms were deemed the lead plaintiff counsel (here page 4) in the Seroquel litigation together compiling over 8000 of the some 28000 injured party cases. From what I can gather reading questionable comments from some of their supposed clients in Topix Seroquel Lawsuit Forum; they are also settling for somewhere in the ball park of what W&L has.

What I find quite interesting is that Bailey Perrin Bailey is also co-counsel in the state of Arkansas  where AstraZeneca will be going to trial over the drug Seroquel in 2012 (Background here -> from the blog tmap & from bloomberg news ); and yet they have sold the injured parties they represent in the civil Seroquel litigation down the river in a settlement that will enrich BPB in the ball park of some 80 million dollars in profit , while leaving the injured parties with nothing more than a insulting token settlement in the very low thousands. On top of that action; to further add insult to injury, BPB will allow past, present, & future cost for the injured parties medical care to be heaped upon the government (Federal and States through Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Etc.) which is ultimately passed along to the American Tax Payer (that's you & me).

BPB has an estimated 6000+ Seroquel Cases and yet did not bring a single case to trial? Now they have been hired as co-counsel in the State of Arkansas to represent the public interest when they couldn't even represent the best interest of their own clients????

Something is very very wrong with this picture.......What percentage is BPB reaping in this deal with Arkansas? How many more millions of dollars will they gather up while those injured by Seroquel continue to suffer from the adverse effects, which include diabetes and related conditions (many of those forever mired down in abject poverty with substandard medical care) thanks to the so called representation of BPB.

Someone must begin to start questioning the ethics and professionalism being demonstrated in these kinds of seemingly reprehensible behaviors. Especially since BPB reached an agreement with AstraZeneca in the civil litigation to sell & market a low ball settlement offer to their clients, while still collecting for themselves in the neighborhood of 80 million dollars in profits..?

Not a bad deal for these sleazy ambulance chaser law firms...of course why not lose & screw over the injured party clients...the FDA is about to announce the next drug warning or questionable medical procedure that these law firms will be jumping up and down advertizing for new suckers to low ball swindle for another massive payday without ever having to take a case to trial...don't take my word for it...check out their web sites and TV commercials...then notice how their sites have been washed clean of Seroquel...?

Once again we can see here this is a huge WIN!! for (The Lawyers) even when they (The Lawyers) LOSE!! You start to wonder if Bailey Perrin Bailey and the majority of law firms involved in this litigation have any semblance of a moral consequence what so ever....

This also makes you start to wonder what other underhanded schemes the law firms may have been involved in...like just maybe recruiting past litigants they represented in the Zyprexa litigation & settlement into the Seroquel Litigation as eager settlement acceptance canidate ringers...? What was really going on in those secret backroom meetings with AstraZeneca's billion dollar legal demon dream team...? Was there ever a plan to bring any cases to trial...or was this just part of another huge SMOKE & MIRRORS campaign...?

Usually, when something doesn't quite pass the smell test; we need to start looking deeper, much deeper...That's a little hint & gift by the way; that I'm passing along to the dress suits @ the Department of Justice and the Attorney General's Office in Washington DC while they are sitting around drinking those eight dollar cups of coffee & munching on sixteen dollar muffins.

The more we dig and gather information about what has conspired, and continues to conspire in this litigation & the corrupted legal system itself....the more questions that surface which are quite disconcerting to state it as mildly as possible...We are a Nation based & grounded upon the principles of Law and Equal Justice...if those principles have been trodden upon or have been corrupted...our Nation stands today in great peril...

***If there is a disgruntled and unhappy Bailey Perrin Bailey Injured Seroquel Client who feels they have been wronged...please feel free to send along your offer packet with personal identifying information edited out to be posted on this blog***

AstraZeneca Seroquel - The Marketing of Misinformation: The name is Wayne...Wayne Macfadden AstraZeneca Senior Medical Director 2001 - 2005

cartoon brought to you via Google images

AstraZeneca Seroquel - The Marketing of Misinformation: The name is Wayne...Wayne Macfadden AstraZeneca Senior Medical Director  2001 - 2005

As a continuation to the last post: after Seroquel's former UK medical adviser John Blenkinsopp wouldn't play hide the results hardball or sign onto the Seroquel fudging the data promotional marketing tour "link here" ; AstraZeneca brought on board someone that would....that was that man about town playboy and ghost writing connoisseur Wayne MacFadden. 
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You can read all about the sordid story and background @ from Jim Edwards @bnet - astrazenecas-sex-for-studies-seroquel-scandal-did-research-chief-bias-the-science

AstraZeneca’s Sex-for-Studies Seroquel Scandal: Did Research Chief Bias the Science?

By Jim Edwards | February 25, 2009


An AstraZeneca executive in charge of clinical research on Seroquel had sexual affairs with a researcher and a study writer, plaintiffs in a Florida lawsuit claim. BNET first wrote about the sex-for-secrets aspect of the Seroquel litigation on Feb. 17.

Now Furious Seasons blogger Philip Dawdy revealed a dynamite legal filing describing how Dr. Wayne MacFadden, AZ’s former US medical director for Seroquel and director clinical research in CNS had affairs with a clinical researcher who authored publications favorable to Seroquel, and a medical marketer who promoted Seroquel through medical publications and other means.
The plaintiffs claim the affairs may have biased the science. AZ is seeking to exclude the evidence. AZ made this statement to FS:

“AstraZeneca had no knowledge of these relationships at the time,” says Laura Woodin, an AstraZeneca spokeswoman in an email. Macfadden’s relationships with the women ran from 2002 to 2006, according to court records. “Dr. MacFadden is no longer employed with the Company.” Woodin added, “AstraZeneca has audited and stands behind the integrity of its Seroquel trial data.”

You can download the filing for yourself here. But if you can’t be bothered to read it, here’s a digest:

MacFadden became involved in a sexual relationship with an (Institute of Psychiatry) researcher who, as well as being involved in other Seroquel-related projects, participated in the clinical research and abstract preparation relating to the effectiveness of Seroquel for use in the treatment of schizophrenia. Their affair lasted from 2002 to 2006.
Sometime during 2004, while collaborating with Parexel and while still involved in a sexual relationship with the IOP researcher, MacFadden became involved in a sexual relationship with the Parexel Program Manager responsible for AstraZeneca.
The nature of their communications suggest a level of control and dependence between Macfadden and these women.

The IOP researcher suggested that Macfadden would ‘punish’ her if she even looked at studies that were favorable to Seroquel’s competitors. He actively encouraged her to conduct research the results of which would be favorable to Seroquel and AstraZeneca, and promised sexual favors in exchange for intelligence on Astrazeneca’s competitiors.
In addition to his sexual involvement with the Parexel program manager, it appears he [Macfadden] also provided her with prescription painkillers.

Macfadden agreed that sexual relationships between clinical researchers and management members of pharmaceutical companies can create bias which can affect the integrity of the science. Macfadden also acknowledged that sexual relationships can affect a person’s judgment. Although Macfadden denies that his multiple sexual relationships with these women created a conflict of interest, he in fact teased the IOP researcher about the obvious conflict of interest as he reviewed drafts of her papers on Seroquel.”
Macfadden has admitted to additional sexual affairs with a clinical researcher assistant at AstraZeneca and a clinical researcher in California also involved in the Seroquel clinical trials.

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picture via the world renowned PharmaGiles

So you might want to ask yourself?....what's so damned important, relevant, and embarrassing that AstraZeneca has their lawyers clamoring to stop these swore depositions from getting out in the public domain...I have an inkling that AstraZeneca is hoping that by working out this low ball settlement & cover up; the public will never see or hear the truth about Seroquel....think about the public safety & health issues/ramifications hiding this information may cause or will cause in the future when this drug goes generic, and is passed out like some candy after dinner mints...

On a side note...Wayne MacFadden has somehow kept his picture/photo under a mysterious veil of secrecy for many years now...if anyone has a photo of this Amorous Man about Town & former AstraZeneca Medical Director; please pass it along through email....

New Seroquel Lawsuits Begin to be Filed - It ain't over until the Seroquel Induced Weight Gain Lady Sings

doesn't appear this lady is singing quite yet.....

From the South East Texas RECORD

Lawsuit alleges mood disorder drug causes diabetes

9/5/2011 7:32 PM By Michelle Keahey, East Texas Bureau 

MARSHALL - A Texas man claims he developed diabetes from a drug he took to treat a psychiatric disorder.

Michael Gentry of Lindale filed a lawsuit against Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, the makers of Seroquel, on Aug. 31 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.

The defendants are accused of negligence for failing to adequately and properly test and inspect the drug to determine whether it was safe and proper for the purpose for which it was designed, failing to implement a reasonably safe design, failing to manufacture the drug in a safe condition and failing to warn of the drug's risks of complications and of disease.

The defendants are further accused of manufacturing, selling, distributing and prescribing a drug which constituted a hazard to health and caused adverse side effects.

The plaintiff is seeking damages for physical, emotional, economic, physical injuries, medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment and court costs.

Gentry is represented by Jeffrey T. Embry of Hossley & Embry in Tyler.

A jury trial is requested.

U.S. District Judge David Folsom is assigned to the case.

Case No. 2:11-cv-00380