BOSTON - A federal judge ordered an expedited hearing on meningitis victims' motion to freeze at least $461 million worth of assets belonging to New England Compounding Company (NECC), Ameridose, Medical Sales Management, and the owners and employees of those companies.

Judge Frank Dennis Saylor IV of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts will hear arguments tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. about whether the court should grant an injunction which would preserve the defendants' assets on behalf of those who were injured or died after receiving tainted medication produced by NECC, according to court records.

The plaintiffs will ask the court for an injunction to prevent New England Compounding Center (NECC) and its owners and other defendants from concealing or transferring assets to avoid liability for the national meningitis outbreak allegedly triggered by drugs compounded and distributed by the company.

NECC was co-founded by Gregory Conigliaro and Barry Cadden and according to filed lawsuits, employ other family members including Lisa Conigliaro Cadden, Dr. Douglas Conigliaro, Barry's brother and sister.

"There are so many unknowns in this case that we need to take this step to safeguard our clients' interests and the interests of the hundreds of people we believe were injured by the negligence of NECC and its owners," said Thomas Sobol, attorney for the plaintiffs and managing partner of the Boston office of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro. "We think that the defendants' past behavior calls into question their ability to act in good faith. And we have serious concerns about the financial viability of any of the defendants."

The plaintiffs filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleging that they developed meningitis after exposure to epidural injections compounded by NECC. They have since amended their complaints to seek a constructive trust for the benefit of all injured victims.

The judge has granted the plaintiffs' request for an expedited hearing to decide whether to issue the injunction, which is scheduled for tomorrow, Nov. 20, 2012, at 11:30 a.m. in federal court in Boston.

The two plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, LLP, a law firm with extensive experience in pharmaceutical fraud and negligence cases.

The suits name a number of defendants including NECC, Ameridose, Medical Sales Management, NECC's sales arm, and several individuals including many of the pharmacists, owners and leaders of NECC and Ameridose. They allege that NECC's failure to observe reasonable safety standards in its facilities during the production of injectable steroids triggered an outbreak that has already claimed 33 lives and infected 480 individuals in 19 states, according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control.

Patients who received spinal steroid injections or other drugs manufactured and sold by New England Compounding during the last two years may be at risk of contracting meningitis or other serious health conditions. You can contact Hagens Berman to discuss legal representation by calling (206) 623-7292 or by emailing [email protected].

More information about these cases is available at http://hbsslaw.com/cases/meningitis .

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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with offices in nine cities. The firm has been named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List seven times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

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