Abilify Compulsive Gambling Side Effects National Class Action

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**UPDATE**

CANADIAN ABILIFY® AND ABILIFY MAINTENA® CLASS ACTIONS NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT APPROVAL HEARINGS IN ONTARIO AND QUÉBEC & NOTICE OF CERTIFICATION OF THE ONTARIO CLASS ACTION

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. IGNORING THIS NOTICE WILL AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

WHO IS THIS NOTICE FOR?

This Notice is directed to: All persons in Canada including their estates who:

• were prescribed and ingested ABILIFY® before February 23, 2017 (“ABILIFY® Class Members”);
• were prescribed and received injections of ABILIFY MAINTENA® between February 6, 2014 and December 16, 2016 (“ABILIFY MAINTENA® Class Members”); and
• by virtue of a personal relationship with persons described above are entitled to assert a claim pursuant to the Ontario Family Law Act as amended, the Civil Code of Québec or equivalent provincial and territorial legislation (“Family Class Members”).

The Canada-wide class actions (the “Class Actions”) allege that the Defendants were negligent in failing to warn Class Members that ABILIFY® and ABILIFY MAINTENA® can cause, contribute to, or exacerbate Compulsive Behaviours and Impulse Control Disorders, specifically, compulsive or pathological gambling, hypersexuality, binge- eating, and compulsive shopping.

The parties have reached a proposed settlement (the “Settlement”), subject to approval of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Québec (the “Courts”).

On March 13, 2020, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice certified a national class action against Bristol-Myers Squibb, Otsuka, and Lundbeck on behalf of the Classes of persons described above. All appeals were completed on February 28, 2022.

Previously, a national class action, which includes individuals in Canada who were prescribed and have ingested and/or used ABILIFY® before February 23, 2017, was authorized by the Superior Court of Québec on December 12, 2019. Notice of authorization of the Québec class action was previously provided on January 6, 2020. The opt-out deadline for ABILIFY® Class Members who did not wish to participate in the Québec Class Action expired on May 31, 2020.

WHAT IS THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT?

The Settlement provides for the creation of a CDN $14.75 million Settlement fund, of which approximately CDN $8.5 million will be used to pay compensation for Approved Claims, including CDN $368,750 in satisfaction of the claims of the Public Health Insurers, CDN $595,000 for family Class Members, CDN $1.7 million for economic losses, the costs of notice (CDN $170,891.80) and administration (CDN $204,750), and Court-approved Class Counsel Legal Fees (CDN $4,425,000) plus disbursements and applicable sales taxes.

Not all Class Members will be eligible for compensation. If the settlement is approved, the proposed Distribution Protocol and Claim Forms, which are also subject to Court- approval, will be made available on the Settlement Website and the websites of Class Counsel and may be requested from the Claims Administrator. The Defendants have denied, and continue to deny, the allegations against them in the Class Actions and have had no role in the determination of Settlement Class Members’ eligibility to participate in the Settlement or the allocation of benefits available to ABILIFY® and ABILIFY MAINTENA® Class Members.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

If you have questions about the Settlement and/or would like to obtain more information and/or copies of the Settlement Agreement and related documents, please visit the websites of Class Counsel, Rochon Genova LLP and Consumer Law Group Inc. or contact the Claims Administrator at the addresses described below:

MNP Ltd. – Class Actions Claims Administration
2000, 112 - 4th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB, T2P 0H3
[email protected]
Toll-Free: 1 (855) 653-0027

THE SETTLEMENT REQUIRES COURT APPROVAL

For the Settlement to become effective, Court approval is necessary. The Courts must be satisfied that the Settlement is fair, reasonable and in the best interests of Class Members. The Approval Hearings have been scheduled to be heard before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Québec on December 20, 2024 and January 8, 2025, respectively. The Approval Hearing in Quebec will proceed in room 2.08 of the Montreal Court House or in any other room as the Judge sitting in room 2.08 on that day, may designate, subject to any adjournment by the Court without further notice to the Settlement Class members other than that which may be posted on the Settlement Website or on Class Counsel’s website.

RIGHT TO OPT OUT OR TO OBJECT

If you previously opted out of the Québec class action but now wish to participate in the Settlement, you may do so by contacting Class Counsel.

If you are an ABILIFY MAINTENA® Class Member, you have the right to exclude yourself from the Ontario class action and from the Settlement by delivering an Opt Out form before December 20, 2024 to the Claims Administrator.

If you are an ABILIFY® Class Member, and did not previously opt out of the Québec class action, you may make a request to the Québec Court to opt out of the Settlement by sending a notice to the clerk of the Superior Court of Quebec at 1 Notre-Dame St. East, Montreal, QC, H2Y 1B6, specifying the Court file no. 500-06-000831-160 and attaching a sworn declaration explaining your reasons. If you do not opt out and the Settlement is approved and becomes effective, you will be bound by the Settlement which includes a release of your claims.

Opt Out forms are available online at www.abilifyclassactionsettlement.com, Rochon Genova LLP and Consumer Law Group Inc.

If you wish to object to the proposed Settlement, you must submit a written objection to the Claims Administrator by no later than December 20, 2024 at the address listed in this Notice. The Claims Administrator will file copies of all objections with the Court. Do NOT send an objection directly to the Court.

You may also attend the Approval Hearings on the date noted above, and if you have submitted a written objection to the Claims Administrator, you may make oral submissions to the Court.

PARTICIPATING IN THE SETTLEMENT

If the Settlement is approved by the Courts, Claimants will have a limited amount of time within which to submit a claim for compensation. If the Settlement is approved, downloadable versions of the Claim Form will be made available online at Rochon Genova LLP and Consumer Law Group Inc. and will be processed and finalized by the Claims Administrator if the proposed Settlement is approved. If the settlement is approved, Claim Forms can also be requested from the Claims Administrator. If you intend to submit a claim under the proposed Settlement, you must do so on or before the expiry of the Claim Period, which will be posted on the Settlement Website: www.abilifyclassactionsettlement.com.

WHO REPRESENTS ME? CLASS COUNSEL ARE:

Rochon Genova LLP
Barristers ● Avocats
900-121 Richmond St. W.
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2K1
Joel P. Rochon
Tel: (416) 363-1867
[email protected]

Consumer Law Group Inc.
Attorneys ● Avocats
1030 rue Berri, Suite 102
Montreal, Québec H2L 4C3
Jeff Orenstein
Tel: 1 (888) 909-7863
[email protected]

LEGAL FEES

At the Approval Hearings, Class Counsel will request approval for payment of their fees, disbursements and applicable taxes. Class Counsel has pursued this lawsuit on a contingency basis and will seek approval from the Courts for such payment in accordance with the terms of their retainer agreements.

This Notice has been approved by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Québec.

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NOTICE TO CLASS MEMBERS:
ABILIFY CANADIAN CLASS ACTION

NOTICE TO All persons residing in Canada who were prescribed and have ingested and/or used the drug, ABILIFY (aripiprazole) before February 23, 2017 and who developed one or more of the following impulse control behaviours:

- pathological gambling (also known as gambling disorder or compulsive gambling)
- compulsive eating/ binge eating
- uncontrollable or compulsive shopping or spending, and/or
- hypersexual behaviours / sexual addiction
(the “Impulse Control Disorders”)

and their successors, assigns, family members, and dependants.

TAKE NOTICE that on September 30, 2020, the Honourable Justice Pierre-C. Gagnon of the Superior Court of Quebec ordered the dissemination of a new notice to class members advising that the deadline to opt-out has been extended to November 19, 2020. A copy of this judgment is available here: Judgment Ordering New Notices to Class Members

NOTICE TO CLASS MEMBERS:
ABILIFY CANADIAN CLASS ACTION

NOTICE TO All persons residing in Canada who were prescribed and have ingested and/or used the drug, ABILIFY (aripiprazole) before February 23, 2017 and who developed one or more of the following impulse control behaviours:

- pathological gambling (also known as gambling disorder or compulsive gambling)
- compulsive eating/ binge eating
- uncontrollable or compulsive shopping or spending, and/or
- hypersexual behaviours / sexual addiction
(the “Impulse Control Disorders”)

and their successors, assigns, family members, and dependants.

1. TAKE NOTICE that on December 12, 2019, the Honourable Justice Pierre-C. Gagnon of the Superior Court of Quebec authorized the bringing of a class action against Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co. and Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical Inc. and appointed the status of representative plaintiff to Mr. Steven Scheer to act on behalf of the class of persons described above.

2. This class action will be brought in the district of Montreal.

3. For the purpose of this class action, the class representative has elected domicile at his attorneys’ offices located at:

Consumer Law Group Inc.
1030 rue Berri, Suite 102
Montreal, (Quebec), H2L 4C3
Telephone: (514) 266-7863
Fax: (514) 868-9690
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.clg.org

4. The principal questions of facts and law that will be dealt with collectively are:

a) Does ABILIFY® cause, exacerbate or contribute to an increased risk of dangerous side effects including having uncontrollable and irrepressible impulses to engage in harmful impulse control behaviours such as:

- pathological gambling (also known as gambling disorder or compulsive gambling)
- compulsive eating/ binge eating
- uncontrollable or compulsive shopping or spending, and/or
- hypersexual behaviours / sexual addiction
(the “Impulse Control Disorders”)?

b) In the affirmative, did the Defendants know or should they have known about the risks of Impulse Control Disorders associated with the use of ABILIFY?

c) Did the Defendants breach the applicable standard of care in failing to adequately test ABILIFY® both before and/or after placing it on the market?

d) Did the Defendants have a duty to warn Class Members of the risk of Impulse Control Disorders associated with the use of ABILIFY®?

e) Did the Defendants adequately and sufficiently advise/warn the Class Members, Health Canada, and/or their physicians about the risks of experiencing the Impulse Control Disorders associated with the use of ABILIFY®?

f) Are the Defendants, or some of them, liable for conspiracy to promote, market, and distribute ABILIFY® in Canada without adequate and timely warnings about the risk of Impulse Control Disorders and, if so, over what period of time?

g) Can causality be determined on a collective basis and, if so, can Class Members rely on a presumption to establish causation?

h) In the affirmative to any of the above questions, did the Defendants’ conduct engage their solidary liability toward some or all of the Class Members?

i) Are the Defendants liable to pay compensatory damages to some or all of the Class Members?

j) In the affirmative, can the compensatory damages payable to the Class Members be determined and recovered on a collective basis?

k) Are the Defendants liable to pay aggravated or punitive damages and, if so, in what amount?

5. The conclusions sought in relation to the above questions are as follows:

GRANT the class action of the Plaintiff and each of the members of the Class;

DECLARE that the Defendants failed to provide adequate warnings with regard to the dangerous side effects of ABILIFY;

RESERVE the right of each of the members of the Class to claim future damages related to the use of ABILIFY;

DECLARE the Defendants solidarily liable for the damages suffered by the Plaintiff and each of the members of the Class;

CONDEMN the Defendants to pay to each member of the Class a sum to be determined in compensation of the damages suffered, and ORDER collective recovery of these sums;

CONDEMN the Defendants to pay to each of the members of the Class aggravated or punitive damages, and ORDER collective recovery of these sums;

CONDEMN the Defendants to pay interest and additional indemnity on the above sums according to law from the date of service of the application to authorize a class action;

ORDER the Defendants to deposit in the office of this Court the totality of the sums which forms part of the collective recovery, with interest and costs;

ORDER that the claims of individual Class Members be the object of collective liquidation if the proof permits and alternately, by individual liquidation;

CONDEMN the Defendants to bear the costs of the present action including expert and notice fees;

RENDER any other order that this Honourable Court shall determine and that is in the interest of the members of the Class;

6. The Superior Court has not yet ruled on the merits of the class action, nor on any compensation that may be awarded to class members. The Defendants deny the allegations contained in the class action.

7. If you wish to opt-out of the class action, you have to notify Class Counsel (identified below) and the clerk of the Superior Court of Quebec, District of Montreal no later than May 31, 2020, by registered or certified mail at this address:

Superior Court of Québec, 1 Notre-Dame street East, Montreal, H2Y 1B6.

You must state that you wish to exclude yourself from the class action of Scheer v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co. et al. (case number 500-06-000831-160).

8. After that date, a class member can no longer request his exclusion from the class, unless specifically authorized by the Court.

9. A class member who has not requested his exclusion is bound by any judgement that may be rendered in the class action to be instituted in the manner provided for by law, whether favourable or not.

10. If you wish to be included in the class action, you have nothing to do.

11. As a class member, you have the right to intervene in the present class action, in the manner provided for by law.

12. No class member other than the representative plaintiff or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

13. For further information, you may contact class counsel listed below. Your name and any information provided will be kept confidential.

Consumer Law Group Inc.
1030 rue Berri, Suite 102
Montreal, (Québec) H2L 4C3
Telephone: (514) 266-7863 / 1-888-909-7863
Fax: (514) 868-9690 / (613) 627-4893
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.clg.org

14. You may also visit the Central Registry of Class Actions at the following address: https://www.registredesactionscollectives.quebec/en.

15. The certification of a national class action on behalf of a similar proposed class and based on similar facts as those asserted herein is sought in the matters of (i) Kirsh, et al. v. Bristol-Myers Squibb, et al. before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the file bearing docket number CV-16-553833-00CP, and (ii) Siobahn Snyder et al. v. Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical, Inc. et al. before the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in the file bearing docket number 1701-03651. Those proposed class actions have not yet been certified.

THE PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE TO CLASS MEMBERS HAS BEEN APPROVED AND ORDERED BY THE SUPERIOR COURT OF QUEBEC.

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**EXTENDED OPT-OUT DEADLINE**

In accordance with Order 2020-4251 of the Chief Justice of Québec and the Minister of Justice, civil procedure time limits were suspended as of March 13, 2020 due to the health emergency.

In accordance with Order 2020-4303 of the Chief Justice of Québec and the Minister of Justice, civil procedure time limits were lifted as of September 1, 2020.

In consequence, the original opt-out deadline which had been set to expire on May 31, 2020 was extended until November 19, 2020.

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CONSUMER LAW GROUP is leading a Canada-wide class action lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada and Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical Inc., the makers of Abilify, on behalf of individuals who developed compulsive behaviours such as gambling addiction, compulsive shopping, compulsive eating, and hypersexuality after taking the drug.

Abilify, the brand name of the medication aripiprazole, is prescribed to thousands of people in Canada to treat depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental health issues. However, this antipsychotic agent has been linked to pathological gambling, binge eating, uncontrollable shopping and hypersexual behaviour.

Several studies have shown an association between Abilify and compulsive gambling:

• In 2010, the journal Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychology published the story of a woman with schizophrenia who took Abilify, gained nearly 20 pounds in six months through compulsive eating and gambled away thousands of dollars. She had no prior history of such behavior.

• In 2011, the British Journal of Psychiatry published a study that examined three patients who used Abilify and exhibited the disorder; all the patients stopped gambling after they stopped using the drug.

• In 2014, the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine published a study that analyzed the records of 1,580 patients who had reported adverse drug effects involving compulsive gambling and other impulse behavior issues. The researchers conducting the study reported that they found a “significant” link between use of Abilify and gambling.

• In 2014, the medical journal Addictive Behaviors published a study that looked at 8 people who were being treated for compulsive gambling. A direct link between Abilify and the disorder was present in 7 of the patients. The researchers reported those patients could once again control their impulse to gamble after they were taken off of Abilify.

On November 19, 2012, the European Medicines Agency modified the product label to warn of the risk of pathological gambling, even where the patient had no prior history of gambling. On November 2, 2015, Health Canada ordered labelling changes to the prescription antipsychotic drugs Abilify and Abilify Maintena to advise of an increased risk of impulsive behaviours of pathological gambling and hypersexuality. On May 3, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that warnings regarding “compulsive or uncontrollable urges to gamble, binge eat, shop, and have sex” would be added to the Abilify label.

The class action lawsuit identifies the group of affected persons as:

All persons residing in Canada who were prescribed and have ingested and/or used the drug, ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) before February 23, 2017 and who developed one or more of the following impulse control behaviours:

- pathological gambling (also known as gambling disorder or compulsive gambling);
- compulsive eating/ binge eating;
- uncontrollable or compulsive shopping or spending; and/or
- hypersexual behaviours / sexual addiction;

and their successors, assigns, family members, and dependants, or any other group to be determined by the Court.

If you or a member of your family have used the antipsychotic agent Abilify and were subsequently diagnosed with pathological gambling, and you wish more information on potential compensation or to be kept advised of the status of the Abilify Compulsive Gambling Side Effects National Class Action litigation or any resulting compensation from the Abilify Compulsive Gambling Side Effects Lawsuit in Canada, Quebec or Ontario, please provide your contact information to our law firm using the below form.

IF YOU WISH TO JOIN THE CLASS ACTION OR TO SIMPLY GET MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW. Please note that providing your information creates no financial obligation for you. You are not charged any fee or cost for joining this class action. Our law firm is paid a contingency fee from the compensation recovered, only if the class action is successful. All information contained in this transmission is confidential and Consumer Law Group agrees to protect this information against unauthorized use, publication or disclosure.