Gibbons Director Michelle Bufano Highlighted in Law360’s Midyear Report on the Top Product Liability Cases of 2015

Law360 has issued its midyear report on the top product liability cases of 2015 so far, choosing as the first matter highlighted In re. Accutane Litigation, with defense led by Michelle M. Bufano, a Director in the Products Liability Department of Gibbons P.C.

This multi-county mass tort litigation, venued in the Superior Court of New Jersey, has involved, over more than a dozen years, thousands of cases alleging adverse effects of the prescription acne medication Accutane. Gibbons, led by Ms. Bufano, represents defendants Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. and Roche Laboratories Inc. Law360 discusses recent major developments in the case, including significant rulings by the new judge overseeing the matter that notably depart from his predecessors’ rulings, by dismissing hundreds of suits in the consolidated litigation, rejecting the testimony of the plaintiffs’ experts (thus ending approximately 2,000 additional individual suits), and finding that Roche’s post-2002 warnings about possible side effects of the drug were clear and unambiguous.

Ms. Bufano is a core member of the national litigation team and New Jersey trial team for In re. Accutane Litigation, as well as counsel of record for all cases in the litigation. She represents the client in all pre-trial proceedings before the New Jersey court. In this role, Ms. Bufano supervises up to twelve Gibbons attorneys and paralegals. She is responsible for all motion practice and shares primary responsibility for the coordination and oversight of fact witness depositions across the country.

For the full mid-year report of the top product liability cases of 2015 so far, please click here.