04/23/24
February 26, 2003
Bechler's widow's attorney targets supplement maker.: We all knew the lawsuit was inevitable. Any legal experts out there that can testify to any precedents where an individual was harmed by an over-the-counter supplement when he did not follow the instructions on the label?
manufacturer may actually be looking to go to trial; they have a reasonable chance to win and certainly don’t want to set a precedent for future settlements - not to mention they will likely get huge pressure from the industry to fight it out, maybe even sharing of the legal defense costs. Good point, k.
posted by vito90 at 11:20 AM on February 26, 2003
I was positive that this stuff was outlawed, but I guess not. You used to be able to buy it at convenience stores and truck stops, but they stopped selling it in Massachusetts while I was in high school. It's clearly pretty dangerous when abused (I can still remember my heart beating like a drum). I think Vito said it the other day in a different thread - you have to be careful with that stuff.
posted by Samsonov14 at 11:28 AM on February 26, 2003
I don't know why I still defend Xenadrine when it hasn't helped me a damn bit, but I'm still a tad upset that we still don't have any actual hard evidence that it was at fault here. Which of course would get the case thrown out of court. Assuming that we will get some evidence that it contributed, I still don't think it's that strong a case, given all the other factors involved. I highly doubt that a trial would yield a verdict in favor of the bechler's, but I'm very curious to see whether Cytodyne would settle to avoid any more high profile negative publicity. Though at this point, there's been so much that they might have nothing to lose and everything to gain by muscling up and going in and winning the case. Even if Ephedra ends up being banned nationwide, they as a business produce ephedra-free products and sales of everything would be hurt by a giant lawsuit... All that aside, this is just another personal responsibility thing that I think has no business in court....
posted by Bernreuther at 10:22 PM on February 26, 2003
This is a full court press for a settlement. (Perhaps ‘suicide squeeze’ is the better analogy.) Nothing stacks up well for Bechler’s side in this – specifically his prior health. This should still be very interesting as MLB, like the Bechler camp, will want this top go away quickly while the manufacturer may actually be looking to go to trial; they have a reasonable chance to win and certainly don’t want to set a precedent for future settlements.