A federal judge soundly rejected the “public nuisance” theory behind most opioid litigation, further isolating the judge in charge of thousands of similar lawsuits who has consistently ruled in favor of plaintiffs on this very question.
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The federal judge in charge of multidistrict opioid litigation walked back an order that set off a rebellion among plaintiff lawyers who complained it would interfere with their cases in state court and steer billions of dollars in fees to a small group of attorneys who dominate the federal litigation.
CINCINNATI (Legal Newsline) - Private lawyers representing hundreds of cities and counties including Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, have asked a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order steering potentially billions of dollars in fees from opioid settlements to a small group of lawyers in charge of federal multidistrict litigation.
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - A two-week bench trial to determine how much three national pharmacy chains must pay to solve a “public nuisance” of opioid abuse in two Ohio counties began with a fundamental dispute over what that nuisance is.
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Walmart, Walgreens and CVS told a judge they should pay only a small fraction of the $2 billion or more that two Ohio counties are seeking for an “abatement” plan to address opioid abuse, saying they supplied less than 3% of the suspicious prescriptions plaintiff lawyers blame for the wider opioid crisis.