Patients' lawyers in Medtronic cases want new judge

Plaintiffs' lawyers in a set of lawsuits against Medtronic Inc. have asked for the recusal of U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle, who recently threw out hundreds of suits over a heart device manufactured by the Fridley-based firm.

The lawyers cited bias or the appearance of bias because the judge's son works at a Minneapolis law firm that counts Fridley-based Medtronic as a client. The firm, Fredrikson & Byron, has handled billions of dollars in deals for Medtronic, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in St. Paul last Friday.

In January, Kyle ruled that Medtronic was shielded from patient lawsuits involving part of a heart defibrillator because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the heart-shocking device as safe and effective. Medtronic had stopped selling its Sprint Fidelis defibrillator lead in 2007 because it had fractured and malfunctioned in a small number of cases. Kyle's ruling followed a recent Supreme Court decision that state court cases are pre-empted by federal regulatory decisions in such cases.

In a transcript of a conference call between plaintiffs' lawyers and the judge on Feb. 12, Kyle said if there was any relationship between Medtronic and the Fredrikson firm, "this is news to me." Kyle also described his son Richard Kyle Jr.'s practice at Fredrikson as in the criminal defense division and said he was unaware of any connection between Medtronic and his son's practice.

An assistant to the judge said Wednesday that he would not be commenting on the case.

If the judge does choose to recuse himself, the case will be reassigned and continue with another judge presiding.

Reached by phone at his office, Richard Kyle Jr. also declined to comment. "I'm going to watch from afar," he said. John Lundquist, a partner at the firm and firm counsel, said Kyle had not done any work involving Medtronic.

"Fredrikson & Byron does not represent Medtronic in the Fidelis litigation nor has Mr. Kyle represented Medtronic on any legal matter," spokeswoman Kyra Schmitt said Wednesday. "We see this as an effort to remove a highly respected federal judge following rulings the plaintiffs lawyers don't like."

According to the filing, Fredrikson's Medical Technology Group handled $20 billion in deals in 2007, of which $14 billion were deals for Medtronic. Fredrikson also does substantial patent work for Medtronic involving implantable devices.

The documents include a long list of ties between Fredrikson and Medtronic, including Medtronic attorneys who later worked for Fredrikson.

"Given the significant degree to which Fredrikson's and Medtronic's financial and legal fortunes intertwine, and Richard Kyle Jr.'s position as a Fredrikson shareholder, recusal cannot be avoided," the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

Separately, Medtronic said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that the Justice Department is investigating its marketing practices, reimbursement and appropriateness of therapy for its cardiac surgical ablation devices.