February 9, 2026
Defense Verdict Reached in First Paragard Bellwether Trial
On February 4, an Atlanta jury rendered a defense verdict, siding with the defendant Teva Pharmaceuticals in the first bellwether trial held in the Paragard multidistrict litigation. Finding against the plaintiff, Pauline Rickards, the jury declined to hold the company liable for claims that it had failed to warn users that the intrauterine birth control device had a pattern of breaking apart once implanted. According to the plaintiff, the device was composed of a small T-shaped piece of plastic wrapped in copper wire and once broken post-implantation caused a variety of injuries and had a negative impact on the users’ fertility. The jury failed to find for Ms. Rickard on all her claims including strict liability failure to warn, negligent failure to warn, strict liability defective design, negligent design, negligent misrepresentation and fraudulent omission.
In response to the verdict, counsel for the plaintiff, Erin Copeland, stated that the verdict “doesn’t change the fact that many women have been hurt by Paragard breaking inside of their bodies.”
“Most disturbing is that critical risk information about Paragard — especially in relation to other IUDs — and questionable corporate conduct has long been kept out of the public eye. Regardless of outcome, with every trial, we’re going to keep bringing more of that truth into the light.”
Rickard’s case was the first of three bellwether trials selected by the judge; the next is scheduled to proceed sometime in the next few months. There are currently over 3,800 cases filed by women making similar claims in the MDL.
February 19, 2021
Leadership Appointed in Paragard MDL
On February 19, District Judge Leigh Martin May appointed attorneys from two law firms to serve as co-lead counsel for the more than 120 cases that have been consolidated in the multidistrict litigation pending in the Northern District of Georgia.
Erin K. Copeland of Fibich, Leebron Copeland & Briggs and Timothy Clark of Sanders Phillips Grossman will lead the representation for women who claim they were injured by the Paragard T380A IUD, a copper birth control device that has been around since the 1980s. According to a number of the plaintiffs, the device has the ability to break when being removed and imbed itself in the uterus. The plaintiffs allege that Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, who owned the Paragard IUD from 2009-2017 and The Cooper Companies Inc., who acquired the device in 2017, knew about the device’s defects but failed to alert either doctors or federal regulators of the risks. The women also claim that the companies overstated the device’s benefits.
In 2019, the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) of the FDA reviewed a television ad for the device that was submitted by Cooper and determined it was misleading; while extolling the benefits of the device, the ad failed to mention important associated risks. The OPDP concluded by making the distribution of the ad a violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
In response, Teva and Cooper claim that the litigation is “not a genuine mass tort” but is instead driven by attorney advertising. They point to the fact that although the device has been available for over 30 years, 75% of the cases were filed in 2020.
In addition to Ms. Copeland and Mr. Clark, Judge May also named C. Andrew Childers of Childers Schleuter & Smith LLC to serve as liaison counsel. The remaining leadership members are:
Plaintiffs’ executive committee:
- Nicole Berg, Keller Lenkner
- Fidelma Fitzpatrick, Motley Rice
- Robert Hammers, Schneider Hammers
- Timothy Porter, Porter Malouf
- Edward Wallace, Wexler Wallace
Plaintiffs’ steering committee members:
- Marcus Susen, Susen Law Group
- Christina Feller, Ferrer Poirot Wansbrough
- Michael Galpern, Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstron & Sinins
- Charles Houssiere, Houssiere, Durant & Houssiere
- Jason Johnston, Zimmerman Reed
- Andrew Jones, Cory Watson
- Robert Kinsman, Krause & Kinsman
- Hunter Linville, Linville Law Group
- Patrick Luff, Fears Nachawati
- Jon Mann, Pittman, Dutton & Hellums
- Buffy Martines, Laminack, Pirtle & Martines
- Tobias Millrood, Pogust Millrood
- Fred Olinde, The Olinde Firm
- Justin Parafinczuk, Parafinczuk Wolf
- Michelle Parfitt, Ashcraft & Gerel
- Ruth Rizkalla, The Carlson Law Firm
- Thienkim “Kim” Truongle, Heard Law Firm
The judge described the team as an “array of highly skilled counsel with diverse backgrounds and experience which will provide the court with an effective committee to advance this litigation in an efficient and just manner.”
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