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Fat Chance : Diet Mania, Greed, and the Infamous Fen-Phen Swindle

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Title: Fat Chance : Diet Mania, Greed, and the Infamous Fen-Phen Swindle
Description: During the early 1990s, the diet drugs fen-phen and Redux achieved tremendous popularity. The chemical combination was discovered by chance, marketed with hyperbole, and prescribed to millions. But as the drugs'developer, pharmaceutical giant American Home Products, cashed in on the miracle weight-loss pills, medical researchers revealed that the drugs caused heart valve disease. This scandal was, incredibly, only the beginning of an unbelievable saga of greed.In Fat Chance, Rick Christman recounts a story that a judicial tribunal later described as'a tale worthy of the pen of Charles Dickens.'Bill Gallion, Shirley Cunningham, and Melbourne Mills contrived to bring a class-action lawsuit against American Home Products in Covington, Kentucky. Their hired trial consultant, Mark Modlin, had a bizarre relationship with the presiding judge, Jay Bamberger of Covington, who was once honored as the Kentucky Bar Association's'Judge of the Year.'Soon after, Stan Chesley, arguably the most successful trial attorney in the United States, joined the class-action suit. Ultimately, their efforts were rewarded with $200 million for the 431 plaintiffs, and the four lawyers immediately began to plunder their clients'money. When the fraud was discovered, two of the attorneys received long prison sentences and another was acquitted after claiming an alcoholism defense. All four were permanently banished from the practice of law and Judge Bamberger was disbarred and disrobed.Recounting a dramatic affair that bears conspicuous similarities to opioid-related class-action litigation against the pharmaceutical industry, Christman offers an engaging, if occasionally horrifying, account of one of America's most prominent product liability cases and the settlement's aftermath.
Authors: Rick Christman
Resource Type: eBook.
Subjects: Fenfluramine, Appetite depressants, Weight loss, Weight loss preparations industry--Law and legislation--United States, Products liability--Drugs--United States, Phentermine
Categories: TRUE CRIME / White Collar Crime, HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV), LAW / Litigation
Database: eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost)
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  – Type: ebook-pdf
  – Type: ebook-epub
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  Availability: 0
Header DbId: e000xww
DbLabel: eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost)
An: 2481543
RelevancyScore: 1103
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: eBook
PubTypeId: ebook
PreciseRelevancyScore: 1103.19409179688
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  Data: Fat Chance : Diet Mania, Greed, and the Infamous Fen-Phen Swindle
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Description
  Group: Ab
  Data: During the early 1990s, the diet drugs fen-phen and Redux achieved tremendous popularity. The chemical combination was discovered by chance, marketed with hyperbole, and prescribed to millions. But as the drugs'developer, pharmaceutical giant American Home Products, cashed in on the miracle weight-loss pills, medical researchers revealed that the drugs caused heart valve disease. This scandal was, incredibly, only the beginning of an unbelievable saga of greed.In Fat Chance, Rick Christman recounts a story that a judicial tribunal later described as'a tale worthy of the pen of Charles Dickens.'Bill Gallion, Shirley Cunningham, and Melbourne Mills contrived to bring a class-action lawsuit against American Home Products in Covington, Kentucky. Their hired trial consultant, Mark Modlin, had a bizarre relationship with the presiding judge, Jay Bamberger of Covington, who was once honored as the Kentucky Bar Association's'Judge of the Year.'Soon after, Stan Chesley, arguably the most successful trial attorney in the United States, joined the class-action suit. Ultimately, their efforts were rewarded with $200 million for the 431 plaintiffs, and the four lawyers immediately began to plunder their clients'money. When the fraud was discovered, two of the attorneys received long prison sentences and another was acquitted after claiming an alcoholism defense. All four were permanently banished from the practice of law and Judge Bamberger was disbarred and disrobed.Recounting a dramatic affair that bears conspicuous similarities to opioid-related class-action litigation against the pharmaceutical industry, Christman offers an engaging, if occasionally horrifying, account of one of America's most prominent product liability cases and the settlement's aftermath.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rick+Christman%22">Rick Christman</searchLink>
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  Data: eBook.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fenfluramine%22">Fenfluramine</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Appetite+depressants%22">Appetite depressants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Weight+loss%22">Weight loss</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Weight+loss+preparations+industry--Law+and+legislation--United+States%22">Weight loss preparations industry--Law and legislation--United States</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Products+liability--Drugs--United+States%22">Products liability--Drugs--United States</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phentermine%22">Phentermine</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22TRUE+CRIME+%2F+White+Collar+Crime%22">TRUE CRIME / White Collar Crime</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+United+States+%2F+State+%26+Local+%2F+South+%28AL%2C+AR%2C+FL%2C+GA%2C+KY%2C+LA%2C+MS%2C+NC%2C+SC%2C+TN%2C+VA%2C+WV%29%22">HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22LAW+%2F+Litigation%22">LAW / Litigation</searchLink>
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
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      – Code: 613.2
        Scheme: ddc
        Type: prePub
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Fenfluramine
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Appetite depressants
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Weight loss
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Weight loss preparations industry--Law and legislation--United States
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Products liability--Drugs--United States
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Phentermine
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Fat Chance : Diet Mania, Greed, and the Infamous Fen-Phen Swindle
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Rick Christman
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Rick Christman
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      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2021
            – D: 03
              M: 02
              Type: profile
              Y: 2021
          Identifiers:
            – Type: isbn-print
              Value: 9781949669305
            – Type: isbn-electronic
              Value: 9781949669312
            – Type: isbn-electronic
              Value: 9781949669329
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Fat Chance : Diet Mania, Greed, and the Infamous Fen-Phen Swindle
              Type: main
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