Opinion ID: 1349586
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Substantial Benefit

Text: Appellants argue that their initial opt-out and PPH clients did not enjoy a substantial benefit from the PMC's services. By Appellants' lights, because those clients were not parties to the Settlement Agreement, they did not receive any of the benefitssuch as medical testing or claims preservationfor which the PMC bargained. And, although the PMC obtained class-wide discovery to which all plaintiffs' attorneys had access, Riepen in particular contends that he did not use it in pursuing his initial opt-out clients' claims against Wyeth. Rather, he insists that the only pre-existing discovery that he used to develop his initial opt-out cases was procured by lawyers (including himself) in the Texas state court cases against Wyeth. Valori is less clear about whether he used the MDL discovery, but he nonetheless argues, generally, that the PMC's work product did not substantially benefit his initial opt-out and PPH clients. According to the District Court, however, the PMC bestowed numerous benefits on initial opt-out and PPH claimants, even if their attorneys did not use the discovery that the PMC marshaled and retained. The mere availability of the discovery, in the Court's words, substantially influenced [Wyeth's] evaluation of every plaintiff[']s case. [45] (App. at 1194 (emphasis added).) More tangibly, the Court found that the PMC had, to the benefit of every claimant, helped to administer the MDL by tracking individual cases, distributing court orders, and serving as a repository of information concerning the litigation and settlement. Diet Drugs, 553 F.Supp.2d at 493. Furthermore, it obtained a number of favorable discovery and evidentiary rulings that applied on a litigation-wide basis, and it enforced a uniform procedure for the production of documents, deposition testimony, and expert disclosures that governed every MDL case against Wyeth. [46] Appellants do not contest any of those findings, and each has substantial support in the record. We think it beyond reasonable denial that the initial opt-out and PPH claimants benefitted from Wyeth's loss of bargaining power due to the PMC's efforts. As the District Court noted, Wyeth had to defend itself against the initial opt-out and PPH claimants knowing that they had access to pertinent discovery and understanding that they, in turn, knew Wyeth was heavily invested in settling. It stands to reason, then, that those plaintiffs stood a better chance of recovery from Wyeth than they would have absent the PMC's efforts. Thus, the PMC conferred a substantial benefit on the initial opt-out and PPH claimants. [47]