Judge Gives Initial OK to Fen-Phen Pact

American Home Products Corp.’s $3.75-billion settlement of lawsuits filed by users of its diet drugs won a federal judge’s preliminary approval, advancing the drug maker’s bid to limit its liability from the fen-phen diet combination. U.S. District Judge Louis Bechtle’s initial approval of the settlement, which sets aside $1 billion to provide medical exams for users of American Home’s Pondimin and Redux drugs and $2.35 billion to resolve individual claims, installs time limits on fen-phen users in deciding whether to accept the company’s offer. But some plaintiffs’ attorneys are predicting that thousands of former fen-phen users will opt out of the settlement because it doesn’t pay enough--or anything--to resolve their claims. After American Home advertises the settlement’s terms beginning Dec. 1, former fen-phen users will have until March 30 to decide whether to opt out of the settlement, Parker said. American Home then has a month to decide whether it wants to press on with the settlement based on the number of dieters who opt out, he added.