Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s High Court on Friday refused to hear an appeal that Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) sought to overturn a federal court ruling that its subsidiary, Ethicon, had sold defective pelvic mesh implants, a court spokesman said.

J&J and Shine Lawyers, which led the class action, said the matter would now go back to the Federal Court to set up a process to determine payments to the more than 11,000 claimants in Australia’s biggest product liability class action.

“Ethicon is disappointed that it has not been successful in its application for special leave to appeal,” Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.

Kathryn Gill (lead member of class action), Diane Dawson (leader) and Ann Sanders (supravisee), will be eligible to collect the A$1.276 Million ($943,000), A$555555, and A$757.372 that were given, Shine Lawyers announced in a statement.

All claims by the other members of the class action will be dealt with separately.

This pharmaceutical company wanted to appeal against a March Federal Court of Australia ruling that upheld a Federal Court judge’s November 2019 decision.

Judge Ethicon found that Ethicon sold implant to treat pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse. The company did not warn women nor surgeons of the potential risks. It also admitted to having rushed products to market prior to proper testing.

Shine Lawyers filed a second class action against Ethicon and J&J in the Federal Court in April on behalf of women implanted with a defective mesh product from July 2017, to include women who were not eligible to join a first class action that was filed in 2012.

The second class action alleges the same allegations as the first. Miriam Sawan from Shine Lawyers stated that it will be up the court to determine how this will go.

J&J has faced similar lawsuits on its pelvic mesh products in the United States, Canada and Europe.

($1 = 1.3526 Australian dollars)