IN RE: National Prescription Opiate Litigation

  1. June 02, 2022

    Panel Rejects Opioid MDL Expansion Despite 'Flood Of Cases'

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation rebuffed pleas from drugstore giants CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart to rethink its surprise decision capping multidistrict opioid litigation, shrugging off predictions that opioid cases will spread chaotically in courts across the country.

  2. May 06, 2022

    Pharmacies Face Key Trial Test As Opioid MDL Intrigue Swirls

    America's biggest pharmacy chains are poised for a pivotal trial at the center of multidistrict opioid litigation and the opioid crisis itself, aiming to avert a giant judgment and an enormous expansion of their broader liability in thousands of cases that are suddenly threatening to spiral out of control.

  3. April 09, 2022

    In Surprise Move, Panel Stops Adding Cases To Opioid MDL

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation unexpectedly ruled late Friday that a huge and historic MDL for opioid crisis lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies has accomplished key objectives and doesn't offer enough remaining upsides to warrant the addition of future cases.

  4. January 06, 2021

    DOJ Misled Court About Planned Opioid Suit, Walmart Says

    Walmart Inc. on Wednesday unleashed fresh allegations of dodgy behavior by U.S. Department of Justice attorneys investigating its sales of prescription opioids, accusing government lawyers of making "disingenuous" statements in Texas federal court about looming enforcement.

  5. December 07, 2020

    Feds Call Walmart Preemptive Opioid Suit Improper

    The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a Texas federal judge to toss Walmart's request for a holding that it can't be held liable for its current opioid prescription practices, arguing the retail giant's premature litigation improperly asks the judiciary to review prosecutorial activity.

  6. February 05, 2020

    JPML Ships Opioid Bellwethers Over Drug Co. Protests

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Wednesday moved opioid-crisis cases involving San Francisco and a major Native American tribe to federal courts in California and Oklahoma, rejecting strident objections from drug companies and teeing up dramatic bellwether trials.

  7. November 29, 2018

    JPML Wary Of Special Litigation For 'Opioid Babies'

    The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation appeared disinclined Thursday to create a new MDL for "opioid babies" whose mothers used prescription narcotics, sharply questioning whether such a move would actually expedite the infants' suits.

  8. September 20, 2018

    New MDL Needed For 'Opioid Babies,' Attys Say

    Attorneys for "opioid babies" whose mothers used prescription narcotics argued on Thursday for new multidistrict litigation focused on the infants, citing "grave concerns" that an existing MDL over the opioid crisis is woefully deficient.

  9. December 06, 2017

    JPML Sends Opioid MDL To Northern Ohio

    The wave of lawsuits filed by local governments in the wake of the opioid addiction crisis will be centralized in the Northern District of Ohio, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said Tuesday.

  10. October 24, 2017

    Pharma Cos., States Battle Over Opioid Litigation Transfer

    Drugmakers, distributors, retailers and local governments have weighed in with divided responses to a request before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate dozens of suits launched by municipalities over the opioid epidemic.