Zantac Trial Schedule
Updated May 17, 2023
Trial Alert: The first Zantac trial is scheduled to begin on July 24, 2023 in Oakland, California before Hon. Judge Evelio Grillo, Superior Court of California, Alameda County, Complex Litigation Department 21. This is the first of four bellwether trials in the California Zantac JCCP. Zantac attorneys R. Brent Wisner of Wisner Baum and Jennifer Moore of Moore Law Group will serve as lead counsel at trial.
The makers of Zantac (ranitidine) are facing lawsuits in several state courts alleging the widely-used heartburn medication causes several types of cancer. Zantac drug manufacturers named in lawsuits include:
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Sanofi
- Pfizer
- Boehringer Ingelheim
Most Zantac lawsuits were consolidated in a federal multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) before U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida, the Honorable Robin L. Rosenberg. However, on December 6, 2022, Judge Rosenberg issued an opinion that Zantac lawyers representing some 50,000 plaintiffs failed to provide credible scientific evidence that Zantac causes cancer. Based on that conclusion, Judge Rosenberg granted the drug makers’ request for summary judgment. Plaintiffs’ attorneys will appeal the ruling.
While the Zantac MDL is not currently a viable option for plaintiffs alleging Zantac causes cancer, Zantac lawsuits continue in state courts. Judge Rosenberg’s ruling in the federal MDL will not directly affect the state court cases.
- California
- Illinois
- Delaware
Cases in California state court are part of the “Ranitidine Product Cases” Judicial Council Coordinated Proceedings (“JCCP”) 5150. The Honorable Evelio Grillo for the Superior Court of Alameda is the judge overseeing the Ranitidine Products Cases JCCP 5150 (also known simply as the California Zantac JCCP, captioned In Re: Ranitidine Product Cases, JCCP No. 5150).
Wisner Baum Zantac attorney R. Brent Wisner serves on the California state court litigation leadership as one of two plaintiffs’ liaisons. After the ruling in the Zantac MDL, Wisner expressed confidence in his experts in the California Zantac JCCP, where he will serve as co-lead counsel for the first Zantac trial in 2023.
“I learned early on that the direction of this MDL was not looking out for the best interests of the victims,” he told the media following Judge Rosenberg’s ruling. “I am glad my firm realized this and focused on filing in state court.”
In May of 2023, the Honorable Judge Vivian L. Medinilla issued a Case Management Order that applies to all Zantac (generic: ranitidine) cancer cases currently pending in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware. In the order, Judge Medinilla named attorneys R. Brent Wisner of Wisner Baum, Jennifer Moore of Moore Law Group, Raeann Warner of Jacobs & Crumplar, and Justin Parafinczuk of Parafinczuk Wolf to the plaintiffs’ leadership for over 77,000 Zantac cases pending in Delaware State Court. Wisner and his colleagues in the leadership will be responsible for presenting the plaintiffs’ position in all pretrial matters, initiating and coordinating pretrial discovery, and more.
Zantac Lawsuit California State Court
July 24, 2023 – Jury selection in Goetz v. GlaxoSmithKline, LLC will begin. This will be the first Zantac bellwether trial in the country. A bellwether trial is essentially a test case in a mass tort litigation that sets a precedent for the hundreds or thousands of cases making the same or similar allegations. The first bellwether trial will be a good indicator for out-of-court settlement resolutions. If the plaintiffs win a jury verdict, it generally increases the likelihood that cases will end in Zantac settlement agreements.
March 23, 2023 – Judge Evelio M. Grillo issued a 63-page order in James Goetz v. GlaxoSmithKline (Case No. RG20061705) that allows nearly all of Mr. Goetz’s expert witnesses to testify at trial, a decision that signals significant litigation on the horizon for GSK. Mr. Goetz’s case is one of thousands, and with the order, his case will head to trial in July.
March 2, 2023 – The continuation of the Sargon hearing will take place on March 2. This will be the third day of this expert hearing.
February 23, 2023 – The Court continued the hearing on Sargon today. At the conclusion, it was announced that jury selection in the first Zantac trial in California State Court will begin on July 24, 2023. Judge Evelio Grillo is currently considering what expert testimony will be allowed during trial in the case of James Goetz v. GlaxoSmithKline, LLC. Mr. Goetz alleges in his Zantac lawsuit that he developed bladder cancer after taking the drug. His case is the first “bellwether” case, an early test of how Zantac cancer lawsuits will fare in state courts.
February 16, 2023 – The Court held a hearing on Sargon, which allows the legal teams for the plaintiffs and the defendants to present their expert witnesses and educate the court on the science that underpins their arguments.
After carefully considering the expert opinions, Judge Grillo will decide whether the experts used sound logic and valid methodologies to arrive at their scientific opinions. If Judge Grillo determines that the experts used valid methodologies, then Zantac cases in the JCCP can proceed to trial and the experts will be allowed to provide evidence and testimony on whether Zantac causes cancer, and whether that propensity for inducing cancer caused a particular Zantac user to develop cancer.
If plaintiffs’ experts pass muster in Sargon, the first bellwether trial will begin.
Zantac Lawsuit Delaware State Court
Judge Medinilla for the Superior Court of Delaware issued a Case Management Order outlining important upcoming dates in the Delaware Zantac litigation:
May and June 2023: The process for selecting bellwether discovery plaintiffs begins.
July 17, 2023: Plaintiffs’ deadline to serve expert reports on the issue of general causation for the cancer types in the Delaware litigation.
September 18, 2023: Plaintiffs deadline to serve any rebuttal expert reports on the issue of general causation for the cancer types in the Delaware litigation.
October 25, 2023: Plaintiffs shall complete depositions of Defendants’ general causation experts.
November 1, 2023: Both parties shall file Daubert motions relating to general causation experts.
December 6, 2023: Both parties shall file oppositions to Daubert motions relating to general causation experts.
December 22, 2023: Both parties shall file reply briefs in support of their Daubert motions relating to general causation experts.
Daubert motions will take place between January 15 and January 31, 2024.
Zantac Lawsuit Illinois State Court
A Zantac case Illinois state court resolved before trial in August of 2022. Parties in the case agreed to a Zantac settlement agreement roughly a week before trial.
When is the First Zantac Trial?
The first Zantac trial in the California JCCP is scheduled for July 24, 2023. The case is James Goetz v. GlaxoSmithKline, LLC. This will be the first Zantac case in the country to go before a jury.
Wisner Baum Zantac Lawyers
Zantac attorneys from the national law firm of Wisner Baum represent thousands of people from across the nation diagnosed with bladder cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and many other forms of cancer. Our firm believes this litigation will eventually include hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs and “dwarf” what the firm helped achieve in the Monsanto Roundup litigation.
If you were diagnosed with cancer after taking Zantac, you may be eligible to pursue compensation in a Zantac lawsuit. To learn more about your legal rights, please call (855) 948-5098 or fill out our contact form to start the free case evaluation process.
-
Paxil Pediatric Class Action $63 Million Settlement
$63 million pediatric class action re false promotion of Paxil. Judge approves final terms of improved national pediatric paxil class action settlement – consumers get a better deal.
-
Third-Party Payer Class Action $40 Million Settlement
$40 million third-party payer class action re off-label promotion of Paxil. Judge approves $40 million settlement in the second phase of national pediatric paxil class action – insurance companies to be reimbursed.
-
Defective Drug Class Action $28 Million Settlement
$28 million Paxil defective drug class action. A class action has been brought in the US territory of Puerto Rico against UK-based drug major GlaxoSmithKline.
-
Celexa-Lexapro Pediatric Class Action $10 Million Settlement
$10 million pediatric class action re false promotion of Celexa and Lexapro. Babies born to women who have used Lexapro and other similar medications such as Zoloft, Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, and Symbyax are at an increased risk for birth defects.
-
Drug Injury $9 Million Settlement
Wisner Baum obtained a $9 million settlement on behalf of an individual who was injured by a drug.
-
Pharmaceutical Settlement $105 Million Settlement
Wisner Baum obtained $105 million on behalf of multiple clients involved in a pharmaceutical negligence case.


-
A ranking in The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” is widely regarded by both client and legal professionals as a significant honor. It is considered the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
-
Wisner Baum is proud to be a sponsor of The Truck Safety Coalition, a a group of caring individuals dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes. Our support enables them to help families and save lives.
-
Law360 recognizes law firms that have a strong regional presence, working on important matters within their home state. “[Wisner Baum] possesses a David v. Goliath-sized slingshot while seeking justice for everyday citizens it believes were harmed or killed through corporate wrongdoing.”
-
NLJ and American Lawyer Media honor law firms and attorneys as Elite Trial Lawyers for their cutting-edge legal work on behalf of plaintiffs in practice areas ranging from mass torts to securities litigation.
-
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers.
-
Less than one-half of one percent of firms across the nation have achieved this ranking. A firm must have a high percentage of lawyers who have achieved the prestigious AV® Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell®.
-
The National Law Journal inducted Wisner Baum into the Verdicts Hall of Fame for obtaining the $2 billion landmark verdict in the Roundup cancer case of Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto. The verdict was #1 in California and #2 in the U.S. in 2019 and is #9 in American history.
-
Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
-
The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 recognized the law firms of Wisner Baum, the Miller Firm and Audet & Partners with the 2019 Trial Team of the Year award (in the Mass Torts category) for their work in the groundbreaking case of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson v. Monsanto Company.
-
An AV® rating reflects an attorney who has reached the heights of professional excellence. The rating signifies the highest legal ability, and very high adherence to professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability, and diligence.
-
Wisner Baum is proud to have all of its lawyers listed in Avvo, a legal directory connecting people in need of legal services with lawyers and connecting lawyers to lawyers. Eight of our attorneys have earned a 10.0 perfect rating with Avvo.
-
CA and USATopVerdict.com ranks our $2 billion verdict in Pilliod et al. v. Monsanto as the biggest verdict in California and the second largest verdict in the U.S. in 2019. It is the ninth largest verdict in U.S. history.
-
Published annually, the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list recognizes the “best of the best” in this area of the law through nominations, research, and review by a board of their peers.
-
In 2020, Law360 honored the law firms ”behind the litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry.” It recognized our success in several landmark cases.
-
In 2018, our $289 million Johnson v. Monsanto verdict was the largest personal injury verdict in California. TopVerdict.com also ranked it #2 among all verdicts in California and #10 in the nation.
-
The Bar Register is the definitive guide to the most distinguished law firms in America. It includes only those select law practices that have earned the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and have been designated by their colleagues as preeminent in their field.

Firm Reviews
What Our Clients Are Saying
-
I Can’t Imagine a Better Law Firm
“Multiple lawyers recommended Wisner Baum to me and I have been consistently impressed with the quality of their work.”
- Best Law Firms Survey -
They Are About Changing the Systems...
“Wisner Baum are not only amazing attorneys but more importantly, they are activists. They are about changing the systems which got us into trouble in the first place. They understand their role in the process of making change.”
- Kim Witczak -
Top Legal Minds in the Country
“The Wisner Baum firm has some of the top legal minds in the country; they are driven, determined, trustworthy, ethical and passionate.”
- From Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms -
Diligent & Professional Representation
“Thanks to your efforts I was able to recover from a tragic experience and turn my life around for the best.”
- W.T. -
Our Best Interest Was Always Number One on Your List
“A special thank you to your Spanish-speaking staff for the extra effort put into this case. The language barrier was never a problem, and we are so very thankful to them. Your name holds much respect in our family.”
- G.C. & C.C