The opinion
THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
IN RE DIET DRUGS : MDL NO. 1203
(Phentermine/Fenfluramine/ :
Dexfenfluramine) PRODUCTS :
LIABILITY LITIGATION :
SHEILA BROWN, et al., : CIVIL ACTION NO.
:
v. :
: 99-20593
AMERICAN HOME PRODUCTS :
CORPORATION :
THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO: : C.D. Cal.
:
ALAN FRIEDMAN, : CIVIL ACTION NO.
:
v. :
: 2:25-cv-03093-FMO-ADS
WYETH, et al. :
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 9596
Bartle, J. May 15, 2025
Before the court is the Joint Motion of Wyeth and
Class Counsel to enforce the Settlement Agreement and Pretrial
Order No. 1415 against Class Member Alan Friedman (Doc. # 5445).1
On March 10, 2025, Alan Friedman, through his counsel,
filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County,
California against defendants Wyeth and a number of related
entities.2 On April 9, 2025, the action was removed to the
1. Alan Friedman has not filed any opposition to the motion.
2. As defendants correctly state, “[d]efendants Wyeth, Wyeth
Company, and American Home Products Corporation are incorrectly
United States District Court for the Central District of
California based on diversity of citizenship under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1332(a). Notice of Removal, Friedman v. Wyeth, Civil Action
25-3093 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 9, 2025) (Doc. # 1).
The complaint alleges that as “a direct result of
consuming Defendants’ Fen-Phen drugs, Plaintiff [Alan Friedman]
developed serious and life-threatening cardiovascular issues
that ultimately required extensive medical intervention.” He
claims that he was prescribed and began taking Fen-Phen in the
mid-1990’s. For approximately 25 years he experienced various
symptoms and had open-heart surgery in January 2025 as a result
of cardiovascular damage he sustained from use of Fen-Phen. In
paragraph 52, he specifically references the case of Brown v.
American Home Products Corporation, Civ. A. No. 99-20593 (E.D.
Pa.), its findings concerning the lethal nature of the drugs,
the defendants’ knowledge of their effects, and defendants’
suppression of that information from consumers and the public.
On August 28, 2000, my late colleague Judge Louis C.
Bechtle, after a fairness hearing, entered Pretrial Order No.
1415 certifying a class and approving the settlement in Brown v.
American Home Products Corporation, Civ. A. No. 99-20593, which
designated. On March 11, 2022, Wyeth Company merged with
American Home Products Corporation (“AHP”), which simultaneously
changed its name to Wyeth. In October 2009, Pfizer Inc.
acquired Wyeth which is now known as Wyeth LLC.”
was part of the massive Multi-District Litigation No. 1203, In
re Diet Drugs (Phentermine/Fenfluramine/Dexfenfluramine)
Products Liability Litigation. See 2000 WL 1222042 (E.D. Pa.
Aug. 28, 2000). This is the case which Friedman references in
his complaint.
The court certified a Class for settlement purposes
only that included “All persons in the United States, its
possessions and territories who ingested Pondimin® and/or ReduxTM
(“Diet Drug Recipients”) . . .” PTO 1415, at *71 ¶ 3. The
court had previously ordered written notice to those in the
Class whose names and addresses were known or presently knowable
to the parties as well as publication notice to the Class. In
its Memorandum in support of PTO 1415, the court outlined the
success and effectiveness of the comprehensive notice program.
The court concluded that the requirements of personal
jurisdiction, due process and Rule 23 had been satisfied. Id.
at *34-39; see also PTO No. 997.
The settlement approved in PTO 1415 provided class
members various periods to opt out of the settlement. Those who
did not were bound by PTO 1415 and the settlement agreement
which the court approved. Paragraphs 7, 10, and 11 of PTO 1415
stated:
7. The court hereby bars and enjoins all
class members who have not, or do not,
timely and properly exercise an Initial,
Intermediate, Back-End or Financial
Insecurity Opt Out right from asserting,
and/or continuing to prosecute against AHP
or any other Released Party any and all
Settled Claims which the class member had,
has or may have in the future in any
federal, state or territorial court.
. . .
10. This Order and Judgment is binding upon
AHP and upon all members of the Settlement
Class and Subclasses, as defined herein
above, who have not timely effected
exclusion from the class under the
procedures set forth in the Class Notice
. . . .
11. Without affecting the finality of this
Final Order and Judgment in any way, the
court hereby retains continuing and
exclusive jurisdiction over this action and
each of the Parties, including AHP and the
class members, to administer, supervise,
interpret and enforce the Settlement in
accordance with its terms; to supervise the
operation of the Settlement Trust; to
determine applications for and make
reasonable awards of attorneys’ fees and
reimbursement of costs to Class and Subclass
Counsel, the Plaintiffs’ Management
Committee, and others for work contributing
to the common benefit of the class; and to
enter such other further orders as are
needed to effectuate the terms of the
Settlement.
Friedman in his complaint states he ingested Diet
Drugs in the 1990’s and thus is a member of the Class. There is
no evidence that he took steps to opt-out as an Initial Opt Out,
an Intermediate Opt Out, or Back-End Opt Out.3 He is subject to
the personal jurisdiction of this court and has received due
process based on the notice requirements implemented by the
parties and approved by the court. PTO 1415, at *34-39.
Accordingly, he is bound by PTO 1415. This court maintains
exclusive jurisdiction over this action, the parties, and the
class members to administer, supervise, interpret and enforce
the settlement of this action. PTO 1415, at *72 ¶ 11. Pursuant
to PTO 1415, Friedman is precluded from pursuing his lawsuit
currently pending in the United States District Court for the
Central District of California and will be barred and enjoined
from doing so.
3. The Settlement Agreement approved in Pretrial Order No.
1415 created the AHP Settlement Trust to administer claims under
the Settlement Agreement. On August 28, 2023, the court
approved the Eleventh Amendment to the Settlement Agreement
effective September 27, 2023. Pretrial Order No. 9558, Brown,
Civ. A. No. 99-202593 (E.D. Pa. Aug 28, 2023) (Doc. # 5413). As
a result, the Trust was terminated, and the court appointed
Brown Greer as the neutral administrator to implement the
Settlement Agreement. There is no record in the Master Database
for Diet Drugs kept by Brown Greer or the records of the Trust
that Class Member Alan Friedman (or any various spellings of
that name) ever took any steps to opt out of the Settlement as
an Initial Opt Out, an Intermediate Opt Out, or a Back-End Opt
Out. Alan Friedman never attempted to present any claims in the
Settlement Program prior to filing his pending lawsuit. See
Decl. of Orran L. Brown, Sr., Brown, Civ. A. No. 99-20593 (E.D.
Pa. Apr. 25, 2025) (Doc. # 5445-4).