SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA- You could be affected by a class action lawsuit against Allergan, Inc. over prices of the dry-eye disease drug Restasis. The Court approved the lawsuit as a class action on behalf of a “class,” or group of people, that could include you. There is no money available now and no guarantee that there will be money available in the future.
What is the lawsuit about?
The lawsuit claims that Allergan engaged in a monopolization scheme that kept generic versions of Restasis off the market and made Restasis prices higher than they otherwise would have been. The Court has not determined who is right or whether either side won. The Plaintiffs will have to prove their claims in Court. No one is claiming that Restasis is unsafe.
Are you included?
This is a class action lawsuit. The Class includes: Consumers and third-party payors (entities such as employers or insurers with self-funded prescription drug plans). Specifically, the class includes:
- Consumers: all persons who, from May 1, 2015 to the present, purchased Restasis in a pharmacy for their own use, or received Restasis by mail-order prescription for their own use, in any of the following states: Arizona, Arkansas,* California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
- Third-party payors: all entities that from May 1, 2015 to the present, paid for and/or provided reimbursement for some or all of the purchase price for Restasis for use by their members, employees, insureds, participants, or beneficiaries, where such persons purchased the drug in a pharmacy or received Restasis by mail-order prescription, in the following states: Arizona, Arkansas,* California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
* Arkansas purchases, payments, and reimbursements for Restasis must have occurred between May 1, 2015 and July 31, 2017.
How are you impacted?
If you are included in the Class, your rights will be impacted by the outcome of this lawsuit. Plaintiffs are asking for money from Allergan for the Class.
Who represents the Class?
The Court has appointed a group of attorneys to represent the Class as “Class Counsel.” You don’t have to pay Class Counsel or anyone else to participate. Instead, if they get money for the Class, they may ask for attorneys’ fees and costs, to be paid by Allergan separately or out of the recoveries made by Class Members, if any. You may hire your own lawyer to appear in Court for you at your own expense.
What are your options?
Stay in the Class: To stay in the Class, you do not have to do anything. If money is obtained, you will be notified about how to ask for a share. Whether the Class wins or loses the case, you will be bound by any final judgment the Court decrees.
Get out of the Class: If you want to keep your right to sue Allergan on your own or if you simply do not want to be included in this class action, you need to exclude yourself. If you exclude yourself, you cannot get money from this lawsuit if any is awarded and you will not be bound by any final judgment the Court decrees. This may be the only opportunity you will have to exclude yourself from the Class. You must exclude yourself by July 19, 2021. To do so, you need to mail a written statement. For information about how to exclude yourself and where to mail this statement, call 1-877-868-6810 or visit www.RestasisLitigation.com. The Court will exclude from the Class anyone who makes that request.