Lawyer's Heart Problem Derails Low-Testosterone Bellwether Trial

Christopher Seeger, Founding Partner of Seeger Weiss.

The first bellwether trial over a prescription medication used to treat low testosterone has ended in a mistrial after lead plaintiffs’ attorney Christopher Seeger suffered from heart problems.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois granted an oral motion made by the plaintiffs for a mistrial, according to a minute order on Monday. He scheduled a new trial in the case to begin Sept. 18.

Seeger, founding partner of Seeger Weiss in New York, is a prominent member of the plaintiffs’ bar and is best known for his lead role in the concussion litigation against the National Football League. He was serving as lead counsel in a trial that began June 5 in a case brought by Jeffrey Konrad against AbbVie Inc., which makes AndroGel, a topical gel used to boost testosterone levels in men.

In an email, Seeger said he would be “100 percent fine.”

“I had an arrhythmia that is being treated,” he wrote. “We would have been fine with a continuance but the court’s schedule could not accommodate that so the case mistried [sic].”

The trial was the first of nearly 6,000 lawsuits that have been filed over AndroGel and testosterone replacement therapies made by several other companies including Eli Lilly and Co. The lawsuits, coordinated in multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, contend that the drugs cause heart attacks, strokes and blood clots.

Seeger is serving in the multidistrict litigation as co-lead counsel with Trent Miracle, a shareholder at Simmons Hanly Conroy in Alton, Illinois, and Ronald Johnson of Schachter, Hendy & Johnson in Wright, Kentucky.

AbbVie defense counsel Michelle Yeary of Dechert declined to comment about the mistrial.

The trial was the first of six against AbbVie scheduled for this year. Konrad, 56, alleged he suffered a heart attack in 2010 after taking AndroGel for about two months. He also alleged that AbbVie, in an effort to boost sales, made false statements in advertising and marketing materials about how many men actually suffered from low testosterone — rather than just the symptoms of old age.

A second bellwether trial is scheduled for next month. That trial, and a third trial, also allege AndroGel caused heart attacks or strokes, while the latter three trials against AbbVie claim the drug caused blood clots.