Mass Tort brief
Checking-Deposit Certifications and Cross-Border Pharma Defenses
Israeli courts clear billions in consumer claims against local banks and foreign carriers while Teva maneuvers US courts.
Mass Tort
Sandoz's $400 million settlement isolates Teva in federal court — pushing the Israeli drugmaker toward a massive payout or a dangerous antitrust jury trial.
BackgroundThe decade-long antitrust litigation in Pennsylvania federal court alleges major drugmakers coordinated price spikes and divided accounts on essential generic drugs. Sandoz joined generic rivals in settling state claims, leaving Teva as the primary remaining corporate defendant.
- State attorneys general launched claims portals for consumer restitution, while private end-payer purchasers face a November deadline to finalize their $533 million fund.
- Sandoz's exit leaves Teva alone in facing bellwether antitrust jury trials where state plaintiffs can demand statutory trebled damages reaching into the billions.
- Teva's disclosures confirm settlement talks with state officials continue, but negotiations are held up over cash installment terms and required executive liability releases.
Mass Tort
By rejecting Air India's force majeure claim, the court signaled foreign airlines cannot use regional conflict to escape statutory duties owed to stranded passengers.
BackgroundIsrael's Aviation Services Law requires airlines operating at Ben Gurion Airport to provide stranded passengers with hotel rooms, food, and alternative flights when cancellations occur. Foreign airlines suspended flights after regional missile attacks, arguing security risks excused statutory passenger assistance.
- Air India grounded Ben Gurion flights for weeks without arranging mandatory hotel accommodations or endorsing tickets to operating charter flights.
- The court ruled that while warfare may justify canceling flights, it does not exempt foreign carriers from basic statutory duties of passenger care under Israeli law.
- The certified class establishes a legal precedent that directly threatens European and Asian airlines that suspended Tel Aviv routes without passenger assistance.
Mass Tort
A certified ₪5.1 billion class action puts Israel's banking oligopoly on trial — threatening to claw back the windfall captured from zero-interest checking accounts.
BackgroundIsraeli retail banks kept checking deposit rates at zero between 2022 and 2025 despite benchmark interest rates climbing above 4.75%. The practice let major lenders earn record margins on ₪500 billion in unremunerated household funds.
- Central District Court Judge Shmuel Bornstein certified the case under unjust enrichment rules, citing Bank of Israel warnings about asymmetric loan and deposit pricing.
- Israel Discount Bank warned the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange it is preparing an appeal, disclosing that mandatory payouts could hit capital buffers across the sector.
- The certified class covers millions of Israeli household accounts open between 2022 and 2025, setting up the largest consumer liability claim in domestic history.
Mass Tort
Teva's interlocutory appeal pauses active Paragard jury selection — buying time to construct a preemption shield against more than 4,100 personal injury suits.
BackgroundMore than 4,100 women sued Teva in Georgia federal court alleging the copper IUD breaks during routine removal, causing organ punctures and surgeries. Teva won the opening bellwether trial in early 2026, but hundreds of cases remain queued for trial.
- Judge Leigh Martin May adjourned the second bellwether trial to April 2027 so the Eleventh Circuit can rule on whether federal approvals preempt state tort claims.
- Plaintiffs filed dozens of new complaints demanding internal manufacturing audit records from Teva's production facilities to prove design defect knowledge.
- A victory on preemption would invalidate most pending claims nationwide, while an appellate loss leaves Teva facing consecutive multi-million dollar jury trials.
Mass Tort
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