Abbott Laboratories has won dismissal of the first three federal bellwether cases in the NEC baby formula multidistrict litigation, but those Abbott baby formula lawsuit dismissals do not mean plaintiffs are losing the broader fight. State court juries have returned more than $600 million in verdicts against Abbott, a Missouri appeals court affirmed a $495 million award in May 2026, and the first federal case cleared for a jury trial is set to begin in July 2026.
The Three Federal Dismissals and Why Each One Failed
The federal cases are consolidated as MDL No. 3026 in the Northern District of Illinois before U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer.1U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois. MDL No. 3026 Details Roughly 797 cases remain pending in the MDL as of May 2026.2ConsumerNotice.org. NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit Each of Abbott’s three dismissals came at summary judgment, meaning the judge decided the case without sending it to a jury.
Mar v. Abbott (May 2025)
The first bellwether involved the death of an infant, RaiLee Mar, whose family sued under West Virginia law. On May 2, 2025, Judge Pallmeyer granted Abbott summary judgment on two grounds.3Justia. Mar v. Abbott Laboratories, Case No. 1:22-cv-00232 The plaintiff could not show a feasible alternative to Abbott’s formula existed at the time and place of the infant’s birth. Prolacta, the human-milk-derived product the plaintiff pointed to, could not be produced at anywhere near the scale of Abbott’s formula, and the plaintiff’s own expert described it as a “clinical feeding alternative” rather than a product-design alternative.4Expert Institute. Abbott Bellwether NEC Baby Formula Case Separately, because the hospital where Mar was born stocked no donor human milk, a stronger warning from Abbott would not have changed what the infant was fed.
Judge Pallmeyer stated the ruling was “limited to the facts of the Mar case” and declined to exclude the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses across the board.4Expert Institute. Abbott Bellwether NEC Baby Formula Case
Diggs v. Abbott (August 2025)
The second bellwether was dismissed on August 14, 2025, but for a different reason. The problem was the plaintiff’s causation expert, epidemiologist Dr. Logan Spector.5CCH. Diggs v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 22 C 05356 The infant, K.B., was born at 32 weeks and weighed 2,095 grams, larger and more mature than the subjects in most of the studies Dr. Spector relied on. Of his 29 cited studies, 24 involved smaller, more premature infants. The two randomized controlled trials that did include infants of K.B.’s size found no statistically significant link between cow’s-milk-based formula and NEC.
The court applied the Daubert standard, which requires expert testimony to have a “valid scientific connection” to the specific facts of the case. Dr. Spector had performed no analysis to support extending his conclusions to an infant of K.B.’s gestational age and birth weight. Without that testimony, the causation theory could not survive.5CCH. Diggs v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 22 C 05356
The Third Bellwether (October 2025)
In October 2025, Abbott secured its third consecutive summary judgment. The court ruled that the plaintiff’s proposed human-milk-based alternative was not feasible at the scale required.6Law360. Abbott Wins Third Bellwether in Cow Milk Baby Formula MDL The ruling tracked the earlier dismissals: plaintiffs could not show a commercially viable alternative existed, and a different warning would not have changed how physicians fed the infant.
The Common Thread
Two issues sank all three federal cases. Plaintiffs could not show that a different or stronger warning about NEC risk would have changed what parents or NICU doctors did. And they could not identify a feasible, scaled alternative product that Abbott could have provided instead.7Lawsuit Information Center. NEC Baby Formula Lawsuits
Abbott has also leaned on the “learned intermediary” doctrine in federal court. Under that doctrine, a manufacturer’s duty to warn runs to the treating physician, not the patient or parent. Abbott argues NICU doctors already knew about the risks of formula feeding in premature infants, so no additional warning to parents would have changed the clinical outcome. In federal proceedings, that argument has largely worked.
Why State Courts Keep Going the Other Way
The state court picture is almost the mirror image. Juries have handed down verdicts totaling more than $600 million against Abbott, and a Missouri appeals court has now affirmed the largest of them.
The $495 Million Gill Verdict, Affirmed on Appeal
In July 2024, a St. Louis jury awarded $495 million to Margo Gill, whose premature daughter Robynn developed NEC and suffered irreversible brain damage after being fed Similac Special Care 24. The verdict split $95 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages, on a nine-to-three vote.8IBFAN. Abbott Must Pay $495M in Infant Formula Trial for Hiding Risks
On May 5, 2026, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District affirmed the entire award. The court rejected Abbott’s learned intermediary argument outright, holding that “Abbott’s preterm formula is a food not a medical product.” Because the formula is legally food, Abbott could not push its duty to warn onto physicians and could be held directly liable for failing to warn parents.9Atlanta Legal Examiner. Missouri Appeals Court Upholds $495 Million Verdict in Abbott NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit
The appeals court also upheld the $400 million in punitive damages, finding “compelling evidence in the record shows that Abbott knew infants weighing under 1500g disproportionately developed NEC yet failed to take steps to remediate the risk.” The opinion cited Abbott’s use of glucose polymers instead of lactose in its formula and noted that the product “is still in the market without an NEC warning.”10Medical Malpractice Lawyers. Missouri Appellate Court Affirms $495M NEC Verdict Against Abbott11Chicago Tribune. Abbott Laboratories Infant Formula Appeal
The $70 Million Chicago Verdict
On April 10, 2026, a Cook County jury unanimously found Abbott liable for defective design, failure to warn, and negligence, awarding $70 million to four families whose premature children developed NEC after being fed Similac Special Care. The award included $53 million in compensatory damages and $17 million in punitive damages.12Expert Institute. Abbott NEC Punitive Verdict It was the first trial to consolidate multiple formula families in a single case. Abbott has said it disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal.13The BMJ. Abbott Formula Verdict
What Explains the Split
Two structural differences drive the divergence. Federal courts apply the Daubert standard for expert testimony, requiring judges to police the fit between an expert’s opinion and the case’s facts. State courts in Missouri and Illinois use more permissive standards for admitting expert evidence, so more cases reach a jury.7Lawsuit Information Center. NEC Baby Formula Lawsuits And the Missouri appeals court’s ruling that preterm formula is food, not a medical product, removes the learned intermediary shield that has worked so well for Abbott in federal court.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys have responded by routing new cases into state court where they can.14Miller & Zois. NEC Formula Lawsuit
The First Federal Case Headed to a Jury
On May 8, 2026, Judge Pallmeyer denied Mead Johnson’s motion for summary judgment in Inman v. Mead Johnson, sending the case to trial.15Legal Newsline. Judge Sets Up High Stakes Baby Formula NEC Trial vs. Mead Johnson Alexis Inman’s son Daniel was born at 29 weeks in May 2020, developed NEC after being fed Enfamil Premature Formula, and died at six weeks old.16Courthouse News Service. Formula May Have Been Cause of Infant Death
Two facts distinguish this case from the three dismissed bellwethers. The plaintiff produced evidence that her breast milk was available at the hospital, so an alternative to formula actually existed for this infant. And Judge Pallmeyer found a triable question on a design theory the earlier cases had not developed: whether Mead Johnson could have reformulated Enfamil Premature to use lactose instead of corn syrup and maltodextrin. The court cited scientific studies suggesting a lactose-based formula might reduce NEC risk, and evidence that Mead Johnson’s own scientists knew about those studies by at least 2015.15Legal Newsline. Judge Sets Up High Stakes Baby Formula NEC Trial vs. Mead Johnson
Trial is scheduled to begin on or around July 6, 2026. A second federal bellwether, a Similac case involving a California family, is scheduled for August 2026.7Lawsuit Information Center. NEC Baby Formula Lawsuits
The Seventh Circuit Appeal
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing at least one of the MDL bellwether dismissals. The plaintiff argues Judge Pallmeyer should have let a jury weigh the causation evidence rather than resolving it on summary judgment, and that the court improperly treated formula supplementation as inevitable while ignoring evidence that alternative feeding options existed. Abbott counters that donor milk was not a practical option given hospital logistics. The court heard arguments the week of May 21, 2026.7Lawsuit Information Center. NEC Baby Formula Lawsuits A reversal would reshape the trajectory of the remaining federal cases.
Abbott’s Push for a Legislative Shield
Abbott has also gone to Congress. In late 2025, Bloomberg reported the company launched a “lobbying blitz,” warning it might stop producing specialty formula for premature babies unless lawmakers or federal health officials protect it from lawsuits.17Bloomberg. Abbott Presses Congress for Legal Shield Over Preemie Baby Formula Lawsuits In March 2026, Representative Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee introduced a bill that would grant formula manufacturers a liability shield and dismiss current lawsuits. Abbott has separately proposed a compensation fund modeled on the vaccine industry’s system, which would pay claimants while barring them from suing. A House committee advanced an amendment directing the FDA to study preterm formula availability, though it was left out of the most recent government spending package.18Claims Journal. Abbott Formula Legislative Shield Efforts
Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut has called Abbott’s approach a “power play,” and a bipartisan group of lawmakers has urged the Department of Health and Human Services to require NEC warning labels on formula products.18Claims Journal. Abbott Formula Legislative Shield Efforts
Where the Litigation Stands
There is no global settlement. Cases continue to be filed and tried individually.19Motley Rice. NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit Judge Pallmeyer has ordered a census of all filed and unfiled claims inside and outside the MDL, a step that often precedes settlement discussions.20Seeger Weiss. NEC Baby Formula Lawsuits Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have estimated combined liability exposure for Abbott and Mead Johnson could reach roughly $3 billion.21Helbock Law. Top NEC Baby Formula Lawsuit Settlements
The federal dismissals give Abbott leverage. The affirmed Gill verdict and the Chicago verdict give plaintiffs theirs. The Inman trial in July and the Seventh Circuit ruling, whenever it lands, will likely settle which side has more of it.