Licelot Mendoza v. HHS - other (2023)

Licelot Mendoza filed a petition alleging that vaccines caused her to suffer a hearing loss. The Secretary of Health and Human Services opposed the claim.

Ms. Mendoza was represented by attorney Jason Molesso.

The parties exchanged expert reports, and a status conference was held in November 2021. Subsequently, Ms.

Mendoza's attorney indicated he was experiencing health problems and anticipated a case transfer. Despite multiple orders and attempts to confirm the prosecution of the case, no response was received from Ms.

Mendoza or her counsel. An order to show cause was issued and served on both Ms.

Mendoza and her attorney, but no response was filed. Consequently, the court dismissed the case for failure to prosecute, noting that Ms.

Mendoza appeared uninterested in continuing the litigation. The decision also briefly mentioned that the Secretary's experts identified significant weaknesses in the case, suggesting compensation might not have been awarded even if the case had proceeded on its merits.