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Drug & Device News
Lawyers Who Fought Drug Company Now Fighting with Claimants
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos has ordered a trial to determine whether the law firm Napoli Bern Ripka LLP improperly influenced the apportionment of a settlement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in order to inflate its share of the proceeds. The firm represented about 5000 plaintiffs who sued Wyeth for injuries due to their use of fen-phen (dexfenfluramine), the drug combination once thought to be the 'holy grail' of diet aids that was later blamed for causing heart valve damage.
The judge issued his March 27 order after reviewing the evidence of attorney fee manipulation, including an affidavit from a former Napoli Bern attorney who said the firm misled clients about the settlement process. That attorney, Stephen David Murakami, said the firm apportioned greater shares of the settlement fund to clients who retained Napoli Bern directly, with lesser amounts going to clients referred to the firm from other attorneys. In fact, one of the firms that referred clients to Napoli Bern, Parker & Waichman, previously sued Napoli Bern based on similar allegations. Parker & Waichman claimed it was shortchanged, but New York's Appellate Division threw the case out.
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