The Pennsylvania Superior Court has denied a bid by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary that had sought to have its appeal of a $13.5 million pelvic mesh verdict heard by the appeals court en banc.

Ethicon, the J&J subsidiary that is the focus of much of the pelvic mesh litigation in Philadelphia, had asked the Superior Court to bypass having the case initially reviewed by a three-judge panel, saying that, “given the importance” of jurisdictional arguments being raised, it should be consolidated for argument with two other pelvic mesh dockets that are raising similar issues to the first-line appellate court.