Pelvic Mesh Plaintiffs Barred from Suing Previously Dismissed Defendant

PHILADELPHIA — Plaintiffs cannot sue a defendant that had been previously dismissed from the case with prejudice unless the order is changed by the judge or vacated by an appellate court, a Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled in two Ethicon pelvic mesh cases.

In a Dec. 23 order, Judge Mark Kearney of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found the plaintiffs failed to adduce new facts or theories warranting another look at dismissed defendant Secant Medical’s liability.

In July 2013, Penny Monroe and Sydney Rogers sued Ethicon Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Secant Medical Inc. and Secant …