Kentucky

More on diet drug tria from Herald Leader:

Settlement more than estimate

A mediator in a fen-phen class-action lawsuit told plaintiffs' attorneys in 2001 that he thought the case was worth only $50 million to $60 million, according to testimony in federal court Friday.



Attorney David Helmers testified that the mediator, former federal judge Daniel Weinstein, told lawyers he didn't think the case was worth more than that because of various factors, such as plaintiffs' having pre-existing medical conditions that could sharply reduce the value of their claims.

Nevertheless, court-ordered mediation ultimately led to the class action's being settled for $200 million in May 2001, benefiting about 440 plaintiffs who had used the diet-drug combination fen-phen.



Melbourne Mills Jr., Shirley Allen Cunningham Jr. and William Gallion -- the attorneys who handled the suit -- are on trial in federal court for allegedly pocketing millions of dollars from the settlement that should have gone to the plaintiffs. The three, who were indicted last year, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.



Helmers, who worked on the fen-phen case as a junior member of Gallion's Lexington law firm, was questioned extensively about the settlement on Friday by defense attorney Hale Almand, who represents Gallion. Almand's questioning seemed intended to support the defense's claims that, thanks to legal representation by Cunningham, Gallion and Mills, the plaintiffs got much more money than they would have received under a broader national fen-phen settlement. The 440 plaintiffs represented by the three defendants had opted out of that national settlement.