Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why did I get the Notice?
2. What is the lawsuit about?
3. What does GSK say about the lawsuits?
4. Why is this a class action?
5. Why is there a settlement?
6. How do I know if I am included in the settlement?
   
   BENEFITS OF THE SETTLEMENT ? WHAT YOU GET
7. What does the settlement provide?
8. How do I file a claim?
   
   REMAINING IN THE CLASS
9. What am I giving up if I do nothing and stay in the Class?
   
   EXCLUDING YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT CLASS
10. What do I do if I don't want to be in the Class?
11. How do I exclude myself from the Class?
    
    COMMENTING ON THE SETTLEMENT
12. Can I object to or comment on the settlement?
13. What is the difference between objecting to the settlement and excluding myself from the settlement?
    
    THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU
14. Do I have a lawyer representing my interests in this case?
15. How will the lawyers be compensated?
16. Should I get my own lawyer?
17. Payments to Class representatives
    
    THE COURT'S FINAL APPROVAL HEARING
18. Did the court grant final approval of the settlement?


GETTING MORE INFORMATION
19. Where do I obtain more information?

1.   Why did I get the Notice?

You received the Notice because you are a Third-Party Payor that may have made reimbursements for Paxil® prescribed to persons under 18 from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2004.

The Notice explains:

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2.   What is the lawsuit about?

Class Representative Plaintiffs have reached a proposed settlement with Defendant GlaxoSmithKline in a class action lawsuit pending in the District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The lawsuit involves the drug Paxil® prescribed for persons under the age of 18. Paxil® is manufactured and marketed by Defendant, SmithKline Beecham Corporation d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline ("GSK"). Plaintiffs alleged that Paxil® has not been shown to be safe and effective for persons under the age of 18. GSK denies these claims and any liability.

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3.   What does GSK say about the lawsuits?

GSK denies all of these claims and any liability. GSK has many defenses to these claims, and has entered into the settlement to avoid the further expense of this lawsuit. If the case is not settled, or if you exclude yourself from the settlement and pursue your own claim, GSK will oppose any claim.

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4.   Why is this a class action?

In a class action lawsuit, plaintiff "class representatives" sue on behalf of those who have similar claims. The people together are a "class" or "class members." A court must determine if it will allow a lawsuit to proceed as a class action. If the court decides to "certify" the case as a class action, a trial of the claims then decides the lawsuit for everyone in the class, or the parties may settle without a trial. In this case, the Parties agreed that the Court may conditionally certify the case as a class action, for purposes of the settlement.

The Parties in this case have agreed to a proposed settlement that includes a national class of Third-Party Payors that paid for or reimbursed for Paxil® prescribed to persons under 18 years of age ("Class"), and the Court has preliminarily approved this settlement. The Class includes Third-Party Payors, such as insurance companies, union-based health and welfare funds and employer sponsored health benefit plans, that paid for or reimbursed for Paxil® prescribed to persons under 18 years of age. Government entities that reimbursed, purchased, or paid for Paxil®, including any payments made under the Medicare or Medicaid programs, are not part of this settlement.

You could be a member of the Class.

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5.   Why is there a settlement?

A settlement is the resulting agreement between a plaintiff and defendant following extended negotiation. Settlements end litigation but are not a result of the court ruling in favor of either the plaintiff or defendant. The settlement allows both parties to (a) avoid the cost and risk of a trial, and (b) establish a just, fair and final resolution that is best for all involved.

The Class representatives and their attorneys make the determination that the settlement is the best result for all Class members. The Court then reviews the terms of the settlement and holds a hearing on the fairness and adequacy of the settlement. If the Court approves the settlement, then the payments described herein will be made and the defendants are released from any liability based upon the alleged behavior that is the basis of the lawsuit.

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6.   How do I know if I am included in the settlement?

The settlement Class consists of Third-Party Payors ("TPPs") that paid for or reimbursed for Paxil® prescribed to persons under 18 years of age between January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2004.

TPPs include insurance companies, employee benefit plans, health and welfare funds, or any other private entity that purchases, pays for, or reimburses the cost of, prescription medications for qualified persons such as insureds, members, dependants, or beneficiaries. Third-party claim administrators may also file a claim on behalf of a self-funded plan if the third-party claim administrator has legal authority and authorization from the self-funded plan to do so.

If you are a member of the settlement Class, you will be included in the settlement unless you exclude yourself as described in Question 10 of the Notice.

Excluded from the Class are (1) any federal, state, or local government entity that reimbursed, purchased, or paid for Paxil®, including any payments made by such an entity under the Medicare or Medicaid programs; (2) GSK, including its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates; and (3) any entity in which GSK has a controlling interest.

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7.   What does the settlement provide?

GSK has entered into a proposed settlement with the Plaintiffs and has agreed to pay $40 million to settle the claims set forth in Plaintiffs' lawsuits as follows:

After attorneys' fees and the costs of administering the settlement are deducted from the $40 million, the balance will be distributed to Class members who qualify and submit a claim as described below. The Class member's submission must certify, as provided in the claim form, that the member is seeking only the member's actual out-of-pocket and unreimbursed cost, based on the amount paid by the Class member, exclusive of any co-payments, deductibles, or other amounts not paid by the member to determine your actual costs for Paxil® prescribed for persons under the age of 18, between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2004. If the records show a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, the claim amount is calculated at 40% of the actual costs. Otherwise, the claim amount will be 15% of the actual costs.

If the total amount of qualified claims exceeds the available funds, claims will be reduced pro rata. If there is money left over after all claims are paid, the balance up to one million dollars will be donated to a charity involved with childrens' mental health issues. Any remainder of funds, after the charitable donation, shall be allocated to increase the amount payable to class members who have submitted qualifying claims, on a pro rata basis based upon the total pediatric Paxil expenditures during the class period that remain uncompensated after the initial claims process, without regard to diagnoses of the presence or absence of diagnostic information in any Class Member’s claims form.

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8.   How do I file a claim?

You must fill out a claim form and submit it to the Claims Administrator, postmarked on or before December 12, 2008, addressed to:

Pediatric Paxil® TPP Administrator
c/o Complete Claim Solutions, LLC
P.O. Box 24662
West Palm Beach, FL 33416

You can download a copy of the claim form by clicking on the link entitled "Claim Form." Read the instructions carefully.

In the claim form, each Class member shall be required to certify the actual costs paid or reimbursed for Paxil® prescribed to persons under 18 years of age between January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2004. This amount must be exclusive of any co-payments, deductibles, or other amounts not paid by the member.

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9.   What am I giving up if I do nothing and stay in the Class?

If you do nothing, you will be included in the Class. You will be bound by the terms and conditions of the settlement. You will not be able to pursue any other lawsuit against GSK concerning the payment, purchase, or reimbursement for Paxil® prescribed to persons under 18 years of age. If the settlement is approved, Plaintiffs' claims against GSK will be "released."

This means that Class members will never be able to file a lawsuit for any claim related to this lawsuit. All Class members agree that they will not seek to file a claim against GSK or any released party based, in whole or in part, on any of the claims in this lawsuit.

Class members agree to forever release all claims even if they later discover new facts regarding the claims in the lawsuits. This includes any claims by you related to the subject matter of the lawsuit whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, contingent or non-contingent. All claims by you related to the subject matter of the lawsuits will be released forever whether or not the facts were concealed or hidden, without regard to the subsequent discovery or existence of such different or additional facts.

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10.   What do I do if I don't want to be in the Class?

If you don't want to be in the Class and you want to keep the right to sue GSK about the same claims on your own, you must take steps to get out of the Class. This is called excluding yourself. By excluding yourself, you keep the right to file your own lawsuit or join another lawsuit against GSK about the claims in these lawsuits. If you exclude yourself from the Class, you will not be able to file a claim for money or benefits under the proposed settlement.

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11.   How do I exclude myself from the Class?

The deadline to file exclusion has expired. All requests had to be postmarked on or before August 1, 2008 to the Claims Administrator and Class Counsel.

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12.   Can I object to or comment on the settlement?

The deadline to file and Objection with the Court has expired. All requests had to be filed with the Court on or before August 1, 2008.

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13.   What is the difference between objecting to the settlement and excluding myself from the settlement?

An objection to the settlement is made when you wish to remain a Class member and be subject to the settlement, but disagree with some aspect of the settlement. An objection allows your views to be heard in Court. In contrast, exclusion means that you no longer are a Class member and do not want to be subject to the settlement's terms and conditions. Once excluded, you lose any right to object to the settlement or to the attorneys' fees because the case no longer affects you and you will not receive any proposed settlement payment.

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14.   Do I have a lawyer representing my interests in this case?

Yes. The Court has appointed the following law firms to represent you and other Class members:

These lawyers are called Class Counsel. You won't be charged personally for these lawyers, but they will ask the Court to award them a fee to be paid out of the Settlement Amount.

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15.   How will the lawyers be compensated?

Class Counsel will request that the Court award attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses, not to exceed $13 1/3 million. This figure represents one-third (33 1/3%) of the total $40 million settlement. The Court, at its own discretion, may award more or less than these requested amounts without further notice to the Class members. Again, if you choose to hire your own attorney, you will be responsible for that attorney's fees and expenses.

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16.   Should I get my own lawyer?

You don't need to hire your own lawyer. If you want your own lawyer to speak for you or appear in Court, you must file a Notice of Appearance (see Question 20 to find out how to submit a Notice of Appearance). If you hire a lawyer to appear for you in the lawsuit, you will have to make your own arrangement for that lawyer's compensation.

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17.   Payments to Class representatives

The Court may award additional payments to the entities who served as Class representatives in this case, to compensate the Class representatives and named plaintiffs for their services. These awards will be paid from Class Counsel's award of attorneys' fees and costs.

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18.   Did the court grant final approval of the settlement?

Yes, on September 30, 2008 the court granted final approval to the settlement.

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19.   Where do I obtain more information?

More details are in the Second Amended Complaint filed by Class Counsel, and the other legal documents that have been filed with the Court in this lawsuit. You can look at and copy these legal documents at any time during regular office hours at the Office of the Clerk of Court, 300 S. 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415, Minnesota. Many of the documents may be viewed and downloaded from this website under the link entitled "Court Documents."

In addition, if you have any questions about the lawsuit or the Notice, you may:

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IMPORTANT: THIS SITE IS SUPERVISED BY THE COURT AND IS ADMINISTERED BY AN ADMINISTRATION FIRM THAT HANDLES ALL ASPECTS OF NOTICE AND CLAIM PROCESSING. THIS IS THE ONLY AUTHORIZED WEB SITE FOR THIS LITIGATION. PLEASE DO NOT RELY UPON OTHER SITES THAT SET OUT DIFFERENT AND UNAUTHORIZED INFORMATION.