Mass Tort brief
Israeli Ice Cream Chain Certified in NIS 350M Suit as Teva Settles Inhaler Claims
Class actions target local food labeling rules, while Teva resolves inhaler patent claims and fights jury bias in U.S. courts.
Mass Tort
Teva is surrendering disputed Orange Book patents to resolve pricing litigation — clearing the path for generic asthma inhaler competition.
BackgroundPayers accused pharmaceutical firms of improperly listing patents in the FDA Orange Book to delay lower-cost generic competition. Regulatory agencies have increased scrutiny on drug patent thickets that maintain brand-name price floors.
- Union healthcare funds sued Teva for improperly extending patent protections to delay lower-cost generic versions of QVAR asthma inhalers.
- Teva agreed to delist six disputed patents from official registries to allow rival generic manufacturers to submit FDA filings.
- The settlement resolves major antitrust litigation risk surrounding Teva's respiratory product portfolio while opening markets to generic competition.
Mass Tort
Courts are enforcing strict precision on food labels — holding Israel's top ice cream chain liable for marketing high-lactose flavors as sugar-free.
BackgroundGolda is Israel's largest retail ice cream chain with over 100 locations across the country. Consumer protection law imposes strict standards on health claims and food labeling to safeguard diabetic buyers.
- Lab tests revealed hazelnut and coffee flavors contained 6.6 grams of sugar per 100 grams versus the 0.5 gram regulatory threshold.
- Judge Iris Rabinovitch-Brun rejected Golda's argument that consumers understand sugar-free to mean no added table sugar rather than total sugar content.
- Golda temporarily pulled the affected product lines from nationwide stores immediately following the Central District Court ruling to limit exposure.
Mass Tort
U.S. defense contractors face persistent litigation attempts seeking to hold hardware manufacturers civilly liable for regional military operations.
BackgroundU.S. defense contractors operate under federal military sales authorizations when shipping equipment overseas. Plaintiffs in product liability and human rights suits frequently target hardware manufacturers over international weapons deployment.
- The filing invokes U.S. Leahy laws governing military assistance conditions to challenge corporate supply contracts directly in court.
- Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Caterpillar are named as corporate defendants alongside federal government officials responsible for foreign military sales.
- Defense attorneys noted no initial property deeds were attached to the filing, questioning whether plaintiffs have established legal standing.
Mass Tort
Teva is moving to insulate its corporate defense from war sentiment — seeking to keep jury focus strictly on commercial antitrust facts.
BackgroundTeva faces long-running generic drug price-fixing litigation brought by U.S. state attorneys general. Trial attorneys frequently file motions in limine to exclude potentially prejudicial corporate background facts during jury selection.
- Teva argued public political sentiments surrounding the regional war could introduce unfair prejudice into generic price-fixing jury deliberations.
- The motion targets upcoming multi-state antitrust trial proceedings in U.S. federal court involving allegations of commercial price collusion.
- Judges must weigh whether corporate citizenship details are relevant to commercial antitrust claims or serve only to sway jury emotions.
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