Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_05-md-01699/USCOURTS-cand-3_05-md-01699-530/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 365
Nature of Suit: Personal Injury - Product Liability
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Product Liability

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-1- PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 22: DEPOSITIONS OF PFIZER SALES REPRESENTATIVES 

– M:05-CV-01699-CRB 

 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

IN RE: BEXTRA AND CELEBREX 

MARKETING SALES PRACTICES AND 

PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION 

CASE NO. M:05-CV-01699-CRB 

MDL No. 1699 

This Order Relates to: 

 ALL CASES. 

PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 22: 

DEPOSITIONS OF PFIZER SALES 

REPRESENTATIVES 

1. Order Applicable to All Cases in MDL Proceedings. This Order shall 

apply to all cases currently pending in MDL No. 1699 and to all related actions that have been or 

will be originally filed in, transferred to, or removed to this Court and assigned thereto 

(collectively, “the MDL proceedings”). This Order is binding on all parties and their counsel in 

all cases currently pending or subsequently made a part of these proceedings and shall govern 

each case in the proceedings unless it explicitly states that it relates only to specific cases. 

2. Order Applicable to Current and Former Pfizer Sales Representatives. This 

Order shall apply to sales representatives employed by Defendants Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia & 

Upjohn Co., Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia Corporation, and/or G.D. Searle LLC 

(formerly known as G.D. Searle & Co.), together with their affiliated entities (collectively, “the 

Pfizer Entities”), at the time they promoted Bextra and/or Celebrex directly to physicians. The 

Order shall apply to sales representatives whether they are current or former employees of the 

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-2- 

 PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 22: DEPOSITIONS OF PFIZER SALES 

REPRESENTATIVES – M:05-CV-01699-CRB 

Pfizer Entities, and shall apply to any deposition in which a Pfizer Entity employee is being 

deposed in connection with his or her communications directly with physicians. 

3. Limits on Sales Representative Depositions. 

a. Limit on Number of Sales Representative Depositions. Of the five 

depositions permitted for each plaintiff in the Discovery Pool, no more than two may be 

depositions of sales representatives, absent good cause shown for additional sales representative 

depositions (“the Discovery Pool sales representative depositions”). The fact that more than two 

representatives detailed a prescribing physician for a plaintiff in the Discovery Pool shall not, by 

itself, constitute good cause. 

b. Which Sales Representatives May Be Deposed. Absent consent of 

Defendants’ Liaison Counsel, no sales representative may be deposed unless and until: (a) that 

representative has been identified in a Defendant Fact Sheet (“DFS”); (b) the plaintiff to whom 

the DFS corresponds has been selected for the Discovery Pool; and (c) the sales representative 

detailed the plaintiff’s prescribing physician regarding Bextra and/or Celebrex prior to the last 

date on which the plaintiff’s prescribing physician prescribed or provided samples of Bextra 

and/or Celebrex to the plaintiff (“the prescription period”). 

c. Depositions of Regional Managers. Plaintiffs only may depose 

sales representatives’ managers as common witnesses pursuant to Pretrial Order No. 4. Such 

witnesses shall count against the limit of five common Pfizer witness depositions per month 

under that Order. 

4. Additional Production of Sales Representative Documents. In addition to 

the documents required in the DFS, Pfizer shall be required to produce the following documents 

in connection with the Discovery Pool sales representative depositions. Pfizer shall not be 

required to produce documents for any other sales representatives in the Discovery Pool. 

a. Electronic Documents. The PSC has requested the following 

documents relating to Bextra and Celebrex, to the extent they are included in the Discovery Pool 

sales representatives’ files: any documents provided to prescribing physicians (including 

physician handouts and “thought leader” communications); any communications with prescribing 

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-3- 

 PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 22: DEPOSITIONS OF PFIZER SALES 

REPRESENTATIVES – M:05-CV-01699-CRB 

physicians, managers, or other sales representatives; and reports of weekly activity (if any) other 

than call notes. To that end, Pfizer will use the following terms to search for those electronic 

documents and will produce any non-privileged, discoverable electronic documents that are dated 

during the prescription period: “Bextra,” “Celebrex,” “COX,” “NSAID,” “arthritis,” and the 

name of the plaintiff's prescribing physician(s). 

b. Hard Copy Documents. The PSC has requested the following 

documents relating to Bextra and Celebrex, to the extent they are included in the Discovery Pool 

sales representatives’ files: any documents provided to prescribing physicians (including 

physician handouts and “thought leader” communications); any communications with prescribing 

physicians, managers, or other sales representatives; and reports of weekly activity (if any) other 

than call notes. To that end, Pfizer will produce any non-privileged, discoverable hard copy 

documents that are dated during the prescription period and that are in the sales representative’s 

possession. 

c. Payments to Prescribing Physician(s) Not Disclosed in DFS. Pfizer 

shall identify any payments to the prescribing physician by Pfizer relating to Bextra and/or 

Celebrex during the prescription period that were not already disclosed in the DFS. 

5. Notices Sixty Days in Advance; Production Ten Days in Advance. Absent 

agreement of Defendants’ Liaison Counsel or good cause shown, the Discovery Pool sales 

representative depositions shall be noticed at least sixty (60) days in advance. Pfizer shall 

produce any non-privileged, responsive documents at least twelve (12) days in advance of the 

Discovery Pool sales representative depositions. The discovery cut-offs for plaintiffs selected for 

the Discovery Pool prior to March 14, 2007, as established by Pretrial Order No. 18, paragraph 

13, shall be extended until Friday, July 20 for all case-specific discovery, including sales 

representatives. The discovery cut-off shall not be extended for any other plaintiffs in the 

Discovery Pool. 

6. Length of Sales Representative Depositions. Absent consent of 

Defendants’ Liaison Counsel or good cause shown, the Discovery Pool sales representative 

depositions are limited to seven hours. 

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-4- 

 PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 22: DEPOSITIONS OF PFIZER SALES 

REPRESENTATIVES – M:05-CV-01699-CRB 

7. Avoidance of Duplicative Depositions. No sales representative shall be 

deposed more than once, unless subsequent to the initial deposition the parties learn that the sales 

representative detailed another plaintiff’s prescribing physician regarding Bextra and/or Celebrex 

during the prescription period and that plaintiff is selected for the Discovery Pool. In such 

instances, the parties shall meet and confer with respect to whether an additional deposition is 

warranted. In any instance in which there is a supplemental deposition, such deposition shall be 

limited to case-specific questions (i.e., questions about the sales representative’s communications 

with the prescribing physician) and shall not exceed two hours. Defendants’ Liaison Counsel 

may cross-notice any depositions of sales representatives in state court actions pursuant to Pretrial 

Order Nos. 4 and 15. 

8. Incorporation of Other Pretrial Orders. The provisions of Pretrial Order 

No. 4 relating to attendance (paragraph 29), objections (paragraph 32), consultation with 

witnesses (paragraph 33), videotaped depositions (paragraph 34), the use of exhibits (paragraph 

35), and the witnesses’ review of transcripts (paragraph 36); Pretrial Order No. 17 relating to the 

videotaping of depositions; and Pretrial Order No. 20 relating to scheduling (paragraph 3), 

location (paragraph 5), and deposition disputes (paragraphs 8 and 9) are hereby incorporated by 

reference in their entirety and shall apply to depositions of sales representatives. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: April_17, 2007 

 /s/ 

HONORABLE CHARLES R. BREYER 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

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