July 06, 2020
Two Ohio counties urged a federal judge to shut down requests by pharmacy chains to toss claims that they created a public nuisance by failing to monitor suspicious opioid orders that helped fuel an epidemic of painkiller addiction, saying the state's public nuisance law fits their claims.
June 30, 2020
CVS Health Corp., Walgreen Co. and other major pharmacy chains asked the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday to disqualify the Ohio federal judge supervising multidistrict opioid litigation, accusing him of exhibiting blatant bias by "directing plaintiffs' trial strategy."
June 29, 2020
Virginia Special Master Christopher C. Wilkes on Monday ordered AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. CEO Steven H. Collis to testify in the second bellwether opioid suit expected to head to trial in federal multidistrict litigation, rejecting the company's arguments taking his video-deposition would be too burdensome.
June 23, 2020
Johnson & Johnson and Teva Pharmaceuticals can't escape a Chicago bellwether case over their allegedly deceptive opioid marketing because earlier rulings have already largely upheld the allegations, the city argued Monday.
June 17, 2020
A group of pharmacies is asking an Ohio federal judge to dismiss complaints by two Ohio counties alleging the pharmacies contributed to the opioid epidemic, saying the counties are suing under public nuisance laws that don't fit their claims.
June 15, 2020
An Ohio federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by pharmacies involved in the sprawling opioid multidistrict litigation to rescind a ruling forcing them to put discovery documents into a common repository, saying the ruling aligns with the purposes of an MDL and imposes "virtually zero" burden on the companies.
June 12, 2020
The Cherokee Nation asked an Oklahoma federal judge Thursday to reject a bid by major drug distributors and pharmacies to toss the tribe's suit alleging they created the opioid crisis that has harmed it, saying their arguments for dismissal have already been rejected in vast opioid multidistrict litigation centralized in Ohio federal court.
June 03, 2020
An Ohio federal judge overseeing sprawling opioid multidistrict litigation adopted the recommendation of a Harvard Law School professor that more information is needed before he can approve a request for a common benefit fund setting aside $3.3 billion in attorney fees.
May 28, 2020
Major drug companies represented by Covington & Burling LLP and other BigLaw firms "jeopardized the health" of an FBI agent by serving subpoenas at his home during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a U.S. Department of Justice filing in opioid crisis litigation.
May 27, 2020
Two Ohio counties in bellwether cases hit pharmacy chains with claims Wednesday that they created a public nuisance by failing to monitor suspicious orders of opioids and only belatedly put in systems to detect those orders.