September 06, 2022
New Mexico's attorney general launched an opioid-crisis trial on Tuesday against three pharmacy giants with a comparison of stewardship of drugs to that of water in his arid state, saying reckless opioid dispensing by Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger "smashed those dams wide open."
September 02, 2022
A torrid 2022 for health care litigation is entering a red-hot homestretch featuring fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court's explosive repudiation of abortion rights, the potential for three False Claims Act clashes at the high court, and the increasingly likely prospect of a funding fiasco for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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.