October 17, 2019
Amid whirlwind settlement talks, nationwide litigation over the pharmaceutical industry’s alleged role in the opioid crisis is on the cusp of a historic trial. Here, Law360 looks at settlement prospects and key issues if the epic courtroom showdown proceeds.
October 16, 2019
Major drug manufacturers and distributors — including Johnson & Johnson and McKesson — are proposing deals that could be worth a combined $50 billion to resolve large portions of nationwide litigation over pharmaceutical industry liability for the opioid crisis, a source with direct knowledge of the offers told Law360 on Wednesday.
October 10, 2019
The Sixth Circuit on Thursday rejected eleventh-hour bids by the Ohio attorney general and drug companies to block an upcoming bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation accusing drugmakers of fueling the opioid crisis, rejecting the state's arguments that the counties in the case are usurping its authority.
October 08, 2019
A highly anticipated bellwether trial in the opioid multidistrict litigation is increasingly shrouded in uncertainty amid a flurry of settlements with drugmakers and aggressive maneuvers by drug distributors to avoid going before a jury.
October 01, 2019
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $20.4 million to resolve claims by two Ohio counties that were going to be at the center of the first bellwether trial later this month in multidistrict litigation against drugmakers blamed for the U.S. opioid crisis.
October 01, 2019
The Ohio attorney general's new campaign to torpedo the first bellwether trial in multidistrict opioid litigation is happening way too late and misconstrues key legal issues, the MDL's supervising judge told the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday.
October 01, 2019
Drug distributors on Tuesday asked the Sixth Circuit to disqualify the Ohio federal judge supervising multidistrict opioid litigation based on perceived bias, a dramatic request that comes three weeks before a milestone trial.
September 26, 2019
A first-of-its-kind "negotiation class" designed to seek nationwide settlements in the multidistrict opioid litigation flouts federal law and improperly entices plaintiffs attorneys to cut deals, a group of cities has told the Sixth Circuit.
September 26, 2019
The Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation refused Thursday to disqualify himself from the historic case, rejecting assertions from drug distributors that he appears biased against them.
September 25, 2019
Drug manufacturers and distributors on Wednesday previewed their attack plans for the first bellwether trial in multidistrict opioid litigation, pinning blame for an addiction epidemic on corrupt doctors, criminal cartels and even the local government plaintiffs themselves.