April 17, 2020
The Ohio federal judge overseeing the vast multidistrict opioid litigation told local governments and pharmacy giants to quickly select a new bellwether case to test allegations of improper painkiller dispensing or he will do it himself.
April 16, 2020
After reviewing a flurry of filings in one of the multidistrict opioid litigation's bellwether cases, an Oklahoma federal judge sent a succinct response to attorneys for a Native American tribe and major drug companies: "STOP!"
April 15, 2020
In a major development for the vast multidistrict opioid litigation, the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday said that key bellwether cases against CVS, Walgreens and other pharmacy giants can't include dispensing allegations because those claims were added too late.
April 13, 2020
The Cherokee Nation told an Oklahoma federal court that pharmacies and drug distributors created a devastating opioid crisis that has especially harmed their community, in the first amended complaint since the suit was remanded from the multidistrict litigation in Ohio.
April 06, 2020
An Ohio federal judge Friday trimmed some claims in Florida-based West Boca Medical Center's opioid addiction suit, which has been floated as a bellwether in the sprawling multidistrict litigation against drug companies, but opted against cutting the hospital's public nuisance claims.
April 01, 2020
The Ohio federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation over the opioid crisis tossed a bid brought by pharmacy chains, including CVS Pharmacy Inc., Walgreen Co. and Walmart Inc., to shift blame onto prescribers, saying he found no basis for the pharmacies to transfer their liability.
March 23, 2020
An Ohio federal judge's creation of a negotiation class to help resolve multidistrict opioid litigation doesn't subvert federal rules, which were never supposed to serve as a "straightjacket" to block new ways of adjudicating large class actions, attorneys for the class told the Sixth Circuit.
March 16, 2020
A West Virginia city and county shouldn't proceed with their bellwether trial in multidistrict opioid litigation, three prescription drug wholesalers have told a federal judge, saying previous state settlements extinguish the need for the cases to proceed.
March 11, 2020
Drugmaker Mallinckrodt said Wednesday that its $1.6 billion settlement to exit a flood of opioid litigation brought by state and local governments is one step closer to complete now that New York Attorney General Letitia James has thrown her support behind the deal.
March 10, 2020
The Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over the opioid epidemic tasked a Harvard Law School professor on Monday with helping the court navigate "novel" legal issues about how to compensate attorneys, some of whom say their payday could amount to more than $3.3 billion.