Zwerling, Schachter & Zwerling, LLP Announce the Partial Settlement of a Class Action Lawsuit Involving the Antibiotic Drug Cipro

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SEATTLE, Aug. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

If You Paid for the Antibiotic Cipro in California
You Could Get Money from a Class Action Settlement

A partial Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit involving the antibiotic drug Cipro. The lawsuit claims that Bayer Corporation, Barr Laboratories, Inc., Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc., Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and The Rugby Group, Inc. (the "Defendants") violated antitrust and consumer protection laws by agreeing not to compete with each other and keeping lower cost generic versions of Cipro off the market. The Defendants deny this. No one is claiming that Cipro is unsafe or ineffective.

WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE?

Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc., Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and The Rugby Group, Inc. have agreed to pay $100 million into a Settlement Fund (the "Fund"). After deducting attorneys' fees, costs, and other fees and expenses, the Fund will be distributed to Class members who file valid claims. Payments will be based on the number of valid claims filed and how much you paid for Cipro. It is estimated that consumers will receive at least $25 each. The Settlement Agreement, available at the website www.CiproSettlement.com, contains more details. The Settlement Agreement involves only Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc., Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and The Rugby Group, Inc., Bayer Corporation previously settled. The case will continue against Barr Laboratories, Inc.

WHO IS INCLUDED?

Generally you are included if you paid a pharmacy, doctor's office, or hospital for some or all of a Cipro prescription in California between January 8, 1997 and December 31, 2005.

Excluded from the Class are all persons who obtained Cipro through MediCal Prescription Drug Program, anyone who purchased Cipro in order to resell it, governmental entities, the Defendants and their related entities, all purchasers of Cipro who paid a flat co-payment and who would have paid the same co-payment for a generic substitute under the terms of their health insurance policy, and all persons or parties that have excluded themselves from the Class.

HOW TO GET A PAYMENT

Class Members must submit a Claim Form to get a payment. If you submitted a Claim Form and received payment in the Bayer settlement, visit the website www.CiproSettlement.com for more information.  The information from your previous Claim Form will be used to calculate your share of this settlement. The Claim Form, and instructions on how to submit it, are available at www.CiproSettlement.com or by calling 1-866-404-0135. The deadline to submit a Claim Form is December 15, 2016.

YOUR OTHER RIGHTS AND OPTIONS

If you are a Class Member, your right to exclude yourself from the Class (to opt out) expired in 2004, when the Class was certified and the original notice was disseminated. You may comment on or object to the proposed Settlement. To do so, you must act by September 23, 2016. Details on how to comment or object are at www.CiproSettlement.com.

The Court will hold a hearing on October 7, 2016 to consider whether to finally approve the Settlement and whether to approve Class Counsel's application for attorneys' fees of up to one third of the Settlement Fund, plus expenses, and service awards for the Class Representatives.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND A CLAIM FORM

Visit: www.CiproSettlement.com           Call 1-866-404-0135

SOURCE Zwerling, Schachter & Zwerling, LLP