SALT LAKE CITY - A federal magistrate judge in Utah on Oct. 28 ordered Pfizer Inc. to pay $852,315 in sanctions in a lawsuit brought by Brigham Young University (BYU) and one of its researchers in a dispute over an agreement involving the discovery of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor enzyme after finding that the manufacturer's delayed production of discovery materials to the plaintiffs interfered with the judicial process and was prejudicial (Brigham Young University, et al. v. Pfizer Inc., et al., No. 06-CV-890, D. Utah; 2009 U.S. Dist . LEXIS 101052). From Mealey's Litigation Report: Discovery

PORTLAND, Maine - Determining what effect the federal government's as-yet unresolved racketeering case against the tobacco industry might have on the federal multidistrict litigation involving light cigarette marketing practices is inappropriate until the court decides whether those cases should be treated as class actions, one of the tobacco companies argues in an Oct. 16 brief (In re: Light Cigarettes Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, No. 1:09md02068, D. Maine). From Mealey's Litigation Report: Tobacco