December 03, 2020
A West Virginia federal court on Thursday delayed a planned January opioid trial after the three major U.S. drug distributors argued the worsening coronavirus pandemic made it too dangerous, but the judge hinted the rescheduled trial could be partially remote.
December 02, 2020
A West Virginia county and city asked a federal court Tuesday to stick with a planned January trial date for bellwether claims against the three major U.S. drug distributors over the opioid crisis, saying opening arguments and more can be done remotely amid the coronavirus crisis.
December 01, 2020
A battle has erupted in a bellwether case in multidistrict opioid litigation over access to internal documents at Allergan parent company AbbVie, which is facing insinuations that it might shutter Allergan to avoid paying a future legal judgment over allegedly unlawful painkiller sales.
November 18, 2020
The Ohio federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation over the opioid crisis on Wednesday struck pharmacies' claims that third-party health care workers were liable for writing opioid prescriptions, saying they're using previously rejected arguments.
November 10, 2020
Pharmacy chains including CVS and Rite Aid on Monday swung back at a bid by two Ohio counties to strike the chains' claims against health care workers who wrote opioid prescriptions, saying their arguments rest on "fiction."
November 05, 2020
The $26 billion settlement proposal from Johnson & Johnson and McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. will include a separate $2 billion fund to pay attorney fees and costs for the local governments that have sued over the opioid epidemic in multidistrict litigation, a source confirmed Thursday.
November 03, 2020
Three opioid distributors have agreed to pay up to $21 billion to settle sprawling litigation over their alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis that has destroyed countless Americans' lives, an attorney involved in the negotiations told Law360 on Tuesday.
November 02, 2020
Two West Virginia governments set to bring one of the first trials in nationwide opioid-crisis litigation are criticizing opioid distributors' bid to exclude testimony by people who have suffered from the crisis.
October 20, 2020
Massive fee demands from plaintiffs attorneys in multidistrict opioid litigation are the main reason settlements haven't been finalized with major drug companies in a broader wave of opioid cases, two state attorneys general said Tuesday, a provocative claim that drew a fast and fiery backlash.
October 14, 2020
An Ohio federal judge sanctioned Allergan and Teva Pharmaceuticals after concluding Wednesday that they didn't search diligently for a damning internal audit of efforts to spot suspicious opioid orders and likely would have done so if the audit helped their legal defense in multidistrict litigation.