August 18, 2022
Following a $650 million opioid trial triumph Wednesday against CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart, lead plaintiffs counsel W. Mark Lanier told Law360 that the pharmacies "could have settled so much cheaper than this, it's not even funny," and that while the appeal process could take years, he's "not too panicked" about the chains' chances.
August 17, 2022
A federal judge in Cleveland said Wednesday that three major pharmacy chains must pay more than $650 million to fund a 15-year plan to address the fallout from opioid abuse in two northeast Ohio counties, delivering a blow to pharmacy companies as more cases make their way to trial.
August 11, 2022
A California federal judge's walloping of Walgreens over its narcotic painkiller sales in San Francisco has left pharmacy chains 0 for 2 in opioid trials and is casting doubt on the companies' apparent plans to continue stepping into the legal ring with government adversaries.
August 10, 2022
Pharmacy giant Walgreens dispensed hundreds of thousands of suspicious prescriptions for narcotic painkillers in San Francisco without proper screening and is liable for ensuing opioid problems in the Bay Area, a California federal judge ruled Wednesday.
August 05, 2022
A West Virginia federal judge contravened long-standing precedent when he sided with drug distributors last month after a major opioid crisis trial, the Mountain State's Mass Litigation Panel said in a ruling against national pharmacy chains that are approaching a similar trial.
August 02, 2022
A West Virginia county on Tuesday said it was appealing a verdict in favor of the nation's three largest drug distributors in the first federal bellwether trial over the opioid crisis, a day after the companies inked a $400 million deal to end similar claims from other cities in the state.
August 01, 2022
The nation's three largest drug distributors — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — have agreed to pay $400 million to end claims from West Virginia cities and counties that claim the pharmaceutical giants flooded the area with huge shipments of opioids and created a public nuisance, the state attorney general announced Monday.
August 01, 2022
More trials are expected to start over claims that drug companies fueled the opioid crisis, and e-cigarette giant Juul is set to face its first case in multidistrict litigation over allegations it misrepresented the safety of its wares. Here is Law360's list of product liability cases to watch for the rest of the year.
July 25, 2022
One of America's largest distributors of prescription opioids went on trial in an epicenter of opioid abuse and emerged victorious this month by deploying a legal strategy that melded compassion and confidence, the company's lead counsel at Reed Smith LLP told Law360 in an interview.
July 21, 2022
A spree of remarkable rulings has already made 2022 a jaw-dropping year for health care and pharmaceutical law, where the U.S. Supreme Court reshaped abortion rights, opioid crisis prosecutions, Medicare's rulemaking powers and vital sources of hospital income. At the midyear mark, Law360 recaps the rulings and analyzes their implications.