John Keenan (New York)

John Keenan

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Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (senior status)

Tenure

1996 - Present

Years in position

27

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

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Education

Bachelor's

Manhattan College, 1951

Law

Fordham University Law, 1954

Personal

Birthplace

New York, N.Y.

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John Fontaine Keenan was a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined the court in 1983 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan. He served on senior status from December 31, 1996 to his death in October 27, 2024.

Education

Born in New York, New York, Keenan graduated from Manhattan College with his bachelor's degree in 1951 and from Fordham University Law School with his LL.B degree in 1954.

Military service

Keenan served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956.

Professional career

• 1982-1983: Criminal justice coordinator, New York City
• 1979-1982: Chairman/president, New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation
• 1976-1979: Deputy attorney general/special prosecutor of corruption, New York
• 1973: Chief assistant district attorney, Queen's County, New York
• 1956-1976: Assistant district attorney, New York County, New York

• 1974: Administrative assistant district attorney in charge of trials
• 1970-1973: Homicide Bureau
• 1968-1969: Supreme Court Bureau

• 1956: Attorney in private practice

Judicial career

Southern District of New York

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Al D'Amato, Keenan was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan on September 13, 1983, to a seat vacated by Lloyd MacMahon. Keenan was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 20, 1983, on a Senate vote and received commission on September 20, 1983. He served on senior status from December 31, 1996 to his death in October 27, 2024.

Noteworthy cases

Merck's Fosamax allegedly causes disability (2013)

See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Scheinberg v. Merck & Co, Inc., No. 08 Civ. 4119(JFK))

Judge Keenan presided over a 'mass action' or multi-district litigation suit involving the osteoporosis drug Fosamax, manufactured by Merck & Co. Over 900 plaintiffs have filed suit against Merck in federal and state court, alleging generally that the use of their drug Fosamax can cause a condition known as osteonecrosis, which destroys the jaw, and that Merck failed to give proper warnings of this risk. Many of these actions have been consolidated in the case before Judge Keenan.

The judge also presided over individual actions before the cases were consolidated. On September 8, 2009, Judge Keenan gave the jury more time to deliberate after they were deadlocked after one of the trials. He dismissed another in November of 2009. On January 29, 2010, he refused to dismiss another and ordered that it will go to trial. Thus far, Merck has won two of three cases that have gone to trial so far, not counting the one which was dismissed.

In February of 2011, Keenan issued an order saying he needs to hear two more bellwether (test) cases before deciding on whether to send the cases that remain back to the original courts they were filed in. The judge stated that he needs to hear a case involving a person taking the drug before Merck updated its label in July of 2005 to reflect the risk of osteonecrosis, and where that person claims they developed problems with their jaw after the change. The other case the judge said he needs to hear first is one involving a person who used the drug after the label change and developed the jaw problems. On February 5, 2013, a jury ruled against Merck, awarding $285,000 to plaintiff Rhonda Scheinberg. July 1, 2013, Judge Keenan denied a request by Merck to remove the $285,000 payment.

See also

• United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

External links

• Judge Keenan at the Federal Judicial Center
• United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, "List of Article III judges"
• Courthouse News Service, "Iranian bomb plotter gets 25 years in prison," May 30, 2013

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: Lloyd MacMahon	Southern District of New York 1983–1996	Succeeded by: Colleen McMahon