Miller Law LLC, Hilliard & Shadowen LLP, Motley Rice LLC, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC Announce that the Court Granted Preliminary Approval of $63.5 Million in Settlements for Purchasers of Loestrin 24 FE, Minastrin 24 FE and/or Their Generic Equivalents

CHICAGO, March 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

If You Purchased Loestrin 24 FE, Minastrin 24 FE, and/or Their Generic Equivalents

Settlement of a Class Action Lawsuit May Affect Your Rights

Settlements have been reached in a class action lawsuit involving the oral contraceptives Loestrin 24 Fe and Minastrin 24 Fe (the "Settlements") with the Lupin Defendants, including Lupin Ltd. and Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and the Warner Chilcott Defendants, including: Defendants Warner Chilcott Co., LLC f/k/a Warner Chilcott Co., Inc., Warner Chilcott (US), LLC, Warner Chilcott Sales (US), LLC, and Watson Laboratories, Inc.; related Warner Chilcott and Watson entities Warner Chilcott plc n/k/a Allergan WC Ireland Holdings Ltd., Warner Chilcott Holdings Co. III, Ltd., Warner Chilcott Corp., Warner Chilcott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Warner Chilcott Limited, and Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and parent entity Allergan plc. The lawsuit claims that Defendants harmed competition and violated state antitrust, consumer protection, and unjust enrichment laws in the United States and its territories by unlawfully delaying the availability of less expensive generic versions of Loestrin 24 Fe and Minastrin 24 Fe. The Defendants deny this. No one is claiming that Loestrin 24 Fe or Minastrin 24 Fe are unsafe or ineffective.

WHAT DO THE SETTLEMENTS PROVIDE?

To settle the lawsuit, the Lupin Defendants agreed: (i) to deposit $1,000,000 into a Settlement Fund; and (ii) to cooperate with End-Payor Plaintiffs in their case against the Warner Chilcott Defendants (the "Lupin Settlement"). The Warner Chilcott Defendants agreed to deposit $62.5 million into a Settlement Fund to settle all claims in the lawsuit (the "Warner Chilcott Settlement").

If the Settlements are approved by the Court and become final, Plaintiffs' Counsel may seek approval from the Court to obtain from the Settlement Fund: (i) reimbursement of reasonable costs and expenses incurred by Counsel in connection with the litigation, plus interest thereon, including payment of the cost of notice of the Settlements to the Lupin Settlement Class third-party payor ("TPP") Class, administration of the Settlement Fund, escrow administration, and taxes; (ii) attorneys' fees (in connection with the Warner Chilcott Settlement only; no attorneys' fees are requested in connection with the Lupin Settlement); and (iii) payment for service awards to the named Plaintiffs in recognition of their efforts to date on behalf of the Settlement Classes. Any remainder in the Settlement Fund, after the payment of the above expenses, shall be distributed to the End-Payor Class pursuant to the Plan of Allocation approved by the Court. The Settlement Agreements, available at the website www.InReLoestrin24FeAntitrustLitigation.com, contain more details.

WHO IS INCLUDED IN THE SETTLEMENT CLASSES?

The Settlement Classes include: (i) the Lupin Settlement Class, which includes consumers and TPPs; and (ii) the TPP Class, which was certified by the Court. The Warner Chilcott Settlement only includes the TPP Class.

Generally, for the Lupin Settlement, you are included in the Lupin Settlement Class if you purchased, paid, and/or provided reimbursement for some or all of the purchase price of Loestrin 24 Fe, Minastrin 24 Fe, and/or their generic equivalents, other than for resale, in the United States and its territories, from September 1, 2009 through and until May 2, 2019. Consumers and TPPs are members of the Lupin Settlement Class.

The Warner Chilcott Settlement includes only the TPP Class, and you are generally included in the TPP Class if you are a TPP (such as a self-insured health plan) that purchased, paid, and/or provided reimbursement for some or all of the purchase price for Loestrin 24 Fe, Minastrin 24 Fe, and/or generic versions of these drugs, for consumption by your members, employees, insureds, participants, or beneficiaries, other than for resale, in the United States and its territories, from September 1, 2009 through and until September 17, 2019.

You are NOT a member of the Class if you: (i) are one of the Defendants or their officers, directors, management, employees, subsidiaries, or affiliates; (ii) are a federal or state governmental entity, excluding cities, towns, or municipalities with self-funded prescription drug plans; (iii) purchased Loestrin 24 Fe or its AB-rated generic equivalent, and/or Minastrin 24 Fe or its AB-rated generic equivalent, for purposes of resale or directly from Defendants or their affiliates; (iv) are a fully insured health plan (i.e., plans that purchased insurance from another TPP covering 100% of the plan's reimbursement obligations to its members); (v) are a "flat co-pay" consumer whose purchases were paid in part by a third-party payor and whose co-payment was the same regardless of the retail purchase price; (vi) are a "brand loyalist" consumer or third-party payor who purchased Loestrin 24 Fe and who did not purchase any AB-rated generic equivalent after such generics became available; (vii) are a judge in this case or a member of his or her immediate family; (viii) are a pharmacy benefit manager; and/or (ix) previously excluded yourself from the TPP Class.

HOW DO I GET A PAYMENT?

If the Lupin Settlement is approved, 30.03% of the Lupin Settlement Fund will be allocated to consumer members of the Lupin Settlement Class and 69.97% will be allocated to the TPP members of the Lupin Settlement Class. After payment of the costs associated with the litigation and providing notice to the Lupin Settlement Class, there likely will not be enough remaining to have a claims process and provide payments to members of the Lupin Settlement Class. 

Third-party payors must submit a Claim Form by September 21, 2020 to be eligible for a payment from the Warner Chilcott Settlement. The Claim Form, and instructions on how to submit it, are available at www.InReLoestrin24FeAntitrustLitigation.com, or by calling 1-877-324-0380.  Consumers are not part of the Warner Chilcott Settlement Class. 

YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS

If you are a consumer member of the Lupin Settlement Class, you have the right to exclude yourself from (to opt out of) the proposed Lupin Settlement Class no later than June 22, 2020. TPPs were previously provided notice and no longer have the opportunity to request exclusion.  You may also comment on or object to the proposed Settlements. To do so, you must act by June 22, 2020. Details on how to request exclusion, comment, or object can be found at www.InReLoestrin24FeAntitrustLitigation.com.

The Court will hold a hearing at 10:00 a.m. on August 27, 2020, to consider whether the Settlements and all of their terms are fair, reasonable, and adequate.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A CLAIM FORM

Visit www.InReLoestrin24FeAntitrustLitigation.com Call 1-877-324-0380 

SOURCE Miller Law LLC, Hilliard & Shadowen LLP, Motley Rice LLC, and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC