First Admitted: 2002, California

Professional Webpage: https://www.wisnerbaum.com/attorneys/bijan-esfandiari/

Bar/Professional Activity:

California, 2002
Co-Lead Plaintiff’s Counsel for the Gardasil MDL - In Re: Gardasil Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 3036 (U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina), 2022
U.S. District Court, Central District of California, , 2002
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2002
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 2005
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 2005
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 2008
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, 2008
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2008
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 2008
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2009
U.S. Supreme Court, 2011
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 2012
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, 2013
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 2021
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 2021
U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, 2021
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, 2022
State Bar of California
American Association for Justice: Leader’s Forum
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Member, UCLA Journal of International Law & Foreign Affairs
Contributing Author to The Docket, a UCLA School of Law Publication

Videos:

The Gardasil HPV vaccine litigation is moving forward now that a panel of judges approved the MDL-federal multi-district litigation against Merck (a few days before this interview was conducted). Baum Hedlund Senior Shareholder Bijan Esfandiari sat down with Mark York from Mass Tort News LegalCast to bring everyone up-to-speed on the Gardasil lawsuits. , Gardasil HPV Vaccine Litigation Update with Bijan Esfandiari – Gardasil MDL 3606, 2022
Hospital Performed Experimental Back Surgeries

Representative Clients:

Hricik v. Stryker Biotech, LLC, 89 F. Supp. 3d 694 (E.D. Pa. 2015) (granting plaintiff’s motion to remand the case back to state court), 2015
Boutte v. Stryker Biotech, LLC, 67 F. Supp. 3d 732, 734 (M.D. La. 2014) (denying defendant’s motion to dismiss and permitting plaintiff to proceed with his products liability claims against medical device manufacturer), 2014
McCormick v. Medtronic, Inc., 219 Md. App. 485, 101 A.3d 467 (2014) (unanimously reversing the trial court’s preemption/dismissal ruling and holding that injured patient’s claims arising out of medical device manufacturer’s off-label promotion of its medical device were not preempted by federal law and thus allowing plaintiff to proceed with his meritorious claims), 2014
Cabana v. Stryker Biotech, LLC et al., Case No. BC465313, 2012 WL 3729227 (Cal.Super. Ct., August 20, 2012) (holding that injured patient’s state law claims arising out of medical device manufacturer’s off-label promotion of its bone morphogenetic protein [Infuse] were not expressly nor impliedly preempted by federal law), 2012
Dorsett v. Sandoz, Inc., 699 F.Supp.2d 1142 (C.D.Cal. 2010) (denying defendants’ preemption motion and holding that both name-brand and generic drug manufacturers have an affirmative duty to issue warnings), 2010
Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 701 F.Supp.2d 1040 (S.D.Ind.2010) (denying defendant’s learned intermediary defense and further allowing plaintiffs’ experts to testify regarding the causal association between antidepressants and increased suicidal behavior), 2010
Mason v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 596 F.3d 387 (7th Cir. 2010) (unanimously reversing the trial court’s preemption ruling and allowing plaintiffs’ claims to proceed to a trial on the merits), 2010
Forst v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 639 F.Supp.2d 948 (E.D.Wis.,2009) (holding that plaintiffs’ claims are not preempted by federal law), 2009
Forst v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 602 F.Supp.2d 960 (E.D.Wis. 2009) (holding that Wisconsin has not adopted the learned intermediary doctrine and allowing all of plaintiffs’ claims, including, negligence, fraud and punitive damages to proceed to the jury), 2009
Cunningham v. SmithKline Beecham, 255 F.R.D. 474 (N.D.Ind. 2009) (ordering defendant to produce documents and awarding sanctions), 2009
Knipe v. SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 602 (E.D.Pa. 2008) (holding that a drug manufacturer owes a duty to warn regarding risks associated with off-label uses and allowing plaintiffs’ claims for compensatory and punitive damages to proceed to the jury), 2009
Knipe v.SmithKline Beecham, 583 F.Supp.2d 553 (E.D.Pa 2008) (holding that plaintiffs’ claims are not preempted by federal law), 2008
Tucker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 596 F.Supp.2d 1225 (S.D.Ind. 2008) (granting plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration and holding that plaintiff’s claims are not preempted by federal law), 2008
Berg & Berg Enterprises, LLC v. Sherwood Partners, Inc. (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 802, 2005

Pro bono/Community Service:

Public Counsel Volunteer Attorney, 2007
Member, Representative Assembly of the Palms Neighborhood Council

Honors/Awards:

2017 – 2024, Selected to: Southern California Super Lawyers, Super Lawyers, 2024
2022 - 2023, The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers, 2023
Lawdragon is one of the country’s most trusted and popular legal media companies. It reports on important legal news stories and legislative updates. Lawdragon also reviews and appraises attorneys that it believes to be at the top of their practices, who are then curated in its annual 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list. Peer nominations are used to begin this process, which helps keep it open to any practicing attorney., Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2023
California Power House, Law360 Regional Powerhouse Series, 2021
Up-and-Coming 100: 2016 Southern California Rising Stars – Top List, Rising Stars, 2016
2009 – 2016, Selected to: Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Super Lawyers, 2016
Products Liability Trial Lawyers Association – Top 25, The National Trial Lawyers
Superb Score 10 out of 10, Avvo.com
The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers
UCLA School of Law Moot Court Honors Program, UCLA

Educational Background:

University of California School of Law, Los Angeles, California , 2002
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., cum laude, 1999
Member, UCLA School of Law Moot Court Honors Program

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

In this webinar, the panel explained the vaccine court process, the latest on the MDL in North Carolina, and updates regarding case criteria, injuries, and science overview. MDL update, court orders, and trial dates The science and the case against Merck What to look for/case criteria, SOLs Bellwether discovery How does Vaccine Court work?, Panel member, Gardasil HPV Vaccine Litigation Update, MTMP - Mass Tort Made Perfect, 2023
Gardasil litigation update, Co-Chair, Speaker, Co-Chair Welcome; Gardasil Litigation; Gardasil and Autoimmune Injury: Diving Into the Science, HarrisMartin’s MDL Conference: Recalled Infant Formula and Gardasil, Legal, Mass Torts, 2022
Medtronic InFUSE Litigation Group, Status of Cases That Have Survived Preemption Motions and Discovery Strategies and Different Venue Options, Speaker, Status of Cases That Have Survived Preemption Motions and Discovery Strategies and Different Venue Options, American Association for Justice, 2014 AAJ Annual Convention, Baltimore, Maryland, Legal, 2014
Status of the Infuse Litigation, Speaker, Status of the Infuse Litigation, Mass Torts Made Perfect, Medtronic Infuse Litigation Update, Las Vegas, Nevada, Legal, 2013
Panel: Corruption, Speaker, Panel: Corruption, Selling Sickness, Selling Sickness, People Before Profits, Session VI, Washington, D.C., Legal, 2013
Living with the Mensing Decision, Speaker, Living with the Mensing Decision,, Mass Torts Made Perfect, Actos and Pelvic Mesh Litigation Update, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Legal, 2012
Challenging Medical Ghostwriting in US Courts, Author, Challenging Medical Ghostwriting in US Courts, PLOS Medicine, Legal, 2012
Legal Implications of Pharmaceutical Ghostwriting, Speaker, Legal Implications of Pharmaceutical Ghostwriting, Faculty of Law’s Conference, The Ethics of Ghost Authorship in Biomedical Research: Concerns and Remedies Workshop, University of Toronto, Legal, 2011
Levine To Mensing — A Journey From The Sublime To The Ridiculous, Author, Levine To Mensing — A Journey From The Sublime To The Ridiculous, LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Emerging Drugs & Devices, Volume 16, Issue #16, Legal, 2011
Reason Magazine Perpetuates False Information About Safety and Efficacy of Antidepressants, Author, Reason Magazine Perpetuates False Information About Safety and Efficacy of Antidepressants, Baum Hedlund Law, Legal, 2011
Outsmarting the 'Learned-Intermediary Doctrine' Defense, Author, Outsmarting the 'Learned-Intermediary Doctrine' Defense, The Advocate, 2010
Preemption's Requiem in the Wake of Wyeth v. Levine, Author, Preemption's Requiem in the Wake of Wyeth v. Levine, LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Emerging Drugs & Devices, Volume 14, Issue #10, Legal, 2009
Complete Tort Immunity For Drug Manufacturers Is Bad For The Public Health: A Commentary On Colacicco v. Apotex And Other Recent Preemption Decisions, Author, Complete Tort Immunity For Drug Manufacturers Is Bad For The Public Health: A Commentary On Colacicco v. Apotex And Other Recent Preemption Decisions, LexisNexis® Mealey's™ Litigation Report: Antidepressant Report, Volume 4, Issue #10, Legal, 2008
Oral Advocacy Competition Participant, Speaker, Oral Advocacy Competition Participant, American Bar Association, ABA Forum on Communications Law – Media Advocacy Workshop, Key Largo, Florida, Legal, 2007
Caught Without a License, Author, Caught Without a License, Marketing Management - Marketing Law, Legal, 2007
Strategies for Litigating Copyright Cases When Infringement is Uncontested, Speaker, Strategies for Litigating Copyright Cases When Infringement is Uncontested, San Fernando Valley Bar Association, Intellectual Property, Entertainment Law & Internet Law Section, Woodland Hills, California, Legal, 2006
YouTube Sued: It's a Riot, Author, YouTube Sued: It's a Riot, American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Media Privacy Committee Newsletter, Legal, 2006
Camisoles: Providing Thin Protection, Author, Camisoles: Providing Thin Protection, IP Law 360, Legal, 2006
Grokster: Inducing Further Litigation, Author, Grokster: Inducing Further Litigation, ABA Tort Trial & Practice Section, Intellectual Property Law Committee Newsletter, Legal, 2005

Bijan Esfandiari