IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR AUTAUGA COUNTY, ALABAMA ELECTRONICALLY FILED 3/31/2011 3:30 PM CV-2011-900094.00 CIRCUIT COURT OF AUTAUGA COUNTY, ALABAMA WHIT MONCRIEF, CLERK Barbara Young as Personal Representative of the Estate of Mary Ellen Kise, Deceased, Plaintiff, vs. Case No. Meds I.V. LLC, Edward Cingoranelli, William Rogers, Bill Vise and fictitious Defendants A, B, C and D being those persons, firms or corporations whose actions, inactions, fraudulent suppression, fraud, scheme to defraud and/or other wrongful conduct caused or contributed to the Plaintiff s injuries, damages and death, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED whose true names and identities are presently unknown to Plaintiff but will be substituted by amendment when ascertained. Defendants. COMPLAINT 1. Plaintiff, Barbara Young, brings this civil action on behalf of the Estate of Mary Ellen Kise (hereinafter Plaintiff, who upon information and belief was given total parenteral nutrition (hereinafter TPN while hospitalized. Upon information and belief, as a direct and proximate result of being administered TPN, Mrs. Kise was caused to suffer physical injuries, including her death on March 15, 2011. 2. Plaintiff, Barbara Young, is an adult resident of Elmore County, Alabama and has petitioned the Probate Court to act as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Mary Ellen Kise by the State of Alabama. The claims on behalf of Mary Ellen Kise s 1
estate are brought pursuant to Alabama s wrongful death statute, Ala. Code Ann. Section 6-5-411, et seq. 3. Defendant, Meds I.V. LLC, is an Alabama corporation. Defendant, Meds I.V. LLC may be served through its registered agent: Edward Cingoranelli, 1140 Falling Star Lane, Alabaster, Alabama 35007. 4. Defendant Edward Cingoranelli is an Alabama resident and is believed to be the Owner of Meds I.V. LLC and may be served at 1140 Falling Star Lane, Alabaster, Alabama 35007. 5. Defendant William Rogers is an Alabama resident and is believed to be the President of Meds I.V. LLC and may be served at 1140 Falling Star Lane, Alabaster, Alabama 35007. 6. Defendant Bill Vise is an Alabama resident and is believed to be a Sales Representative of Meds I.V. LLC and may be served at 102 Oxmoor Road, Suite 118, Birmingham, Alabama 35209. 7. Fictitious Defendant A is that person, corporation or other legal entity who or which manufactured, supplied, distributed, or otherwise provided component products or materials used by Meds IV in compounding or producing TPN and other products recalled on March 24, 2011. 8. Fictitious Defendant B is that person, corporation or other legal entity who or which who or which manufactured, supplied, distributed, or otherwise provided component products or materials used by Meds I.V. LLC in compounding or producing TPN and other products recalled on March 24, 2011. 2
9. Fictitious Defendant C is that person, corporation or other legal entity which manufactured, supplied, distributed, or otherwise provided component products or materials used by Meds I.V. LLC in compounding or producing TPN and other products recalled on March 24, 2011. 10. All of said fictitious parties are unknown to Plaintiff at this time but will be substituted by amendment when ascertained. 11. At all times relevant hereto, Meds I.V. LLC was in the business of designing, testing, manufacturing, labeling, advertising, marketing, promoting, selling, and distributing pharmaceutical products including TPN in the state of Alabama. 12. Defendants refers collectively to all Defendants named in this Complaint unless otherwise specified. 13. Personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction are appropriate in this court as to all Defendants, as all Defendants have done business in Autauga County, Alabama, either directly or by agent, and have thus availed themselves of this jurisdiction. 14. At all times relevant, Defendants were in the business of developing, manufacturing, promoting, marketing, distributing, testing, warranting, supplying, selling and/or introducing into interstate commerce, including in the State of Alabama, pharmaceutical products including TPN. 15. Defendants conduct exhibits such an entire want of care as to establish that its actions were a result of fraud, ill will, recklessness, gross negligence or willful and intentional disregard to Mary Ellen Kise s individual rights, and hence punitive damages are appropriate. 3
STATEMENT OF THE FACTS 16. Upon information and belief, on March 3, 2011 in Autauga County, Alabama, Mary Ellen Kise was admitted to Baptist Health Systems in Prattville, Alabama and was subsequently given TPN which was designed, engineered, manufactured, marketed and sold by the Defendants. Upon information and belief, on March 15, 2011, Mary Ellen Kise died as a result. 17. TPN is administered intravenously and is used in patients who cannot or should not get their nutrition through eating. Defendants manufactured, designed, packaged, marketed and distributed TPN. Defendants misrepresented the safety and effectiveness of this drug and concealed and/or understated its dangerous side effects. 18. Defendants TPN was defective at the time it was placed in the stream of commerce. 19. Defendants knew or should have known that these products were defective at the time the products left their respective control and custody. COUNT I 20. Plaintiff realleges all prior paragraphs of this complaint as if fully set out herein. 21. Defendants were negligent and/or wanton in the design, manufacture, testing, warnings, marketing, distribution and/or sale of the TPN, which is the subject matter of this lawsuit. 22. Upon information and belief as a direct and proximate result of the negligence and/or wantonness of Defendants, Mary Ellen Kise died. 4
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against all Defendants for such amount of damages allowed by Alabama Law as a jury may award for the wrongful death of Mary Ellen Kise, and for the cost of this action. COUNT II 23. Plaintiff realleges all prior paragraphs of this complaint as if fully set out herein. 24. The negligence, wantonness or other wrongful acts of Defendants in this case combined and concurred to cause the injuries and damages as alleged in paragraph 22 above. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against all Defendants for such amount of damages allowed by Alabama Law as a jury may award for the wrongful death of Mary Ellen Kise, and for the cost of this action. COUNT III 25. Plaintiff realleges all prior paragraphs of the Complaint as if fully set out herein. 26. At the time Defendants marketed, sold and distributed TPN for use by the general consuming public, including Plaintiff, Defendants knew of the use for TPN was intended and implicitly warranted the product to be of merchantable quality, and safe and fit for other uses. 27. Mary Ellen Kise reasonably relied upon the skill and judgment of Defendants as to whether TPN was of merchantable quality and safe and fit for the use it was adminstered. 5
28. Contrary to such implied warranty, TPN was not of merchantable quality, or safe or fit for ht many uses it was prescribed, because the product was and is unreasonably dangerous and unfit for the purposes for which it was intended and used as described above. 29. Defendant s conduct in this regard was a contributing cause of Mary Ellen Kise s injuries, damages and death. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment against all Defendants for such amount of damages allowed by Alabama Law as a jury may award for the wrongful death of Mary Ellen Kise, and for the cost of this action. DAMAGES 30. Upon the trial of this case, it will be shown that Mary Ellen Kise was caused to sustain injuries, damages and death as a direct and proximate result of Defendants conduct and Plaintiff will respectfully request the Court and jury to determine the amount of damages Plaintiff has suffered and incurred. 31. At all times relevant hereto, Defendants actually knew of the defective nature of their product as herein set forth at the expense of the public health and safety in conscious disregard of the foreseeable harm caused by this product. Defendant s conduct exhibits such a entire want of care as to establish that its actions were a result of fraud, ill-will, recklessness, gross negligence, or willful or intentional disregard of the Plaintiff s individual rights. The Plaintiff, therefore, is entitled to punitive damages from Defendants. WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Plaintiff prays that the Defendant be cited to appear and answer herein; that upon final trial herein, Plaintiff recovers 6
damages as set forth above from Defendant, including cost of Court, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest at the legal rates, and that Plaintiff have such other and further relief, both general and special, at law and in equity, to which Plaintiff may be justly entitled under the facts and attending circumstances. DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all counts and issues so triable. DATED: March 31, 2011 _/s/ Jere L. Beasley JERE L. BEASLEY (BEA020 ANDY D. BIRCHFIELD, JR. (BIR006 WESLEY CHADWICK COOK (COO079 Counsel for Plaintiff OF COUNSEL: BEASLEY, ALLEN, CROW, METHVIN, PORTIS & MILES, P.C. Post Office Box 4160 Montgomery, Alabama 36103-4160 (334 269-2343 telephone (334 954-7555 facsimile 7