Matrixx settlement stumbles
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
A federal judge in Arizona objects to Matrixx Initiatives' proposed settlement of economic injury claims in 18 class-action filings. The Zicam maker said Sept. 3 it is working to resolve the procedural issues and still expects to finalize the settlement - totaling up to $35,000 (1"The Tan Sheet" Aug. 23, 2010). In an 2order filed Aug. 26, Judge Frederick Martone of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona rejects and denies the stipulation and joint request for dismissal without prejudice. Joining the economic injury claims with another case against Matrixx in a Chicago federal court would circumvent an earlier decision by a panel on multidistrict litigation, which rejected centralizing all actions in the Chicago court, Martone says. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Matrixx faces hundreds of personal injury suits from consumers claiming they suffer anosmia from use of zinc-containing intranasal Zicam swab products