In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation

Track this case

Case overview

Case Number:

1:17-md-02804

See also:

Court:

Ohio Northern

Nature of Suit:

P.I.: Other

Multi Party Litigation:

Class Action, Multi-district Litigation

Judge:

Dan Aaron Polster (MDL 28

Firms

Companies

Government Agencies

Sectors & Industries:

  1. May 04, 2021

    'Gateway Effect' Is Instant Flashpoint In Opioid MDL's 1st Trial

    West Virginia communities moved forcefully Tuesday to show that prescription opioids have been a "gateway" leading Americans on deadly paths to heroin and illicit fentanyl, escalating a crucial and controversial debate in multidistrict opioid litigation's leadoff trial.

  2. May 03, 2021

    At W.Va. Opioid Trial, Drug Cos. Battle 'Occam's Razor'

    The first opioid-crisis trial in federal court started Monday, with West Virginia communities saying vast sales of narcotic painkillers are an obvious explanation for vast numbers of deaths, and drug companies describing themselves as scapegoats for the failures and crimes of others.

  3. April 29, 2021

    Drug Cos. In Opioid Bellwether Deny Any Duty To Halt Orders

    Drug distributors have asked an Oklahoma federal judge to let them appeal a ruling in the Cherokee Nation's bellwether suit that found the companies shouldn't have shipped "suspicious orders" of opioids, arguing that the Controlled Substances Act and related regulations don't impose a duty not to fill those orders.

  4. April 29, 2021

    5 Key Details As Clock Ticks Down To Opioid MDL's 1st Trial

    After years of sparring in multidistrict litigation over the opioid crisis, Appalachian communities and deep-pocketed drug corporations will face off Monday in the MDL's first bellwether trial. Here, Law360 looks at the lead lawyers, pivotal disputes and bleak accounts of American towns falling apart.

  5. April 26, 2021

    Distributors Lose Pretrial Attack On W.Va. Opioid Damages

    A West Virginia federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by drug distributors to end a bellwether suit in the national opioid multidistrict litigation, saying the court isn't prepared to find that municipalities can't seek funding as abatement for a public nuisance claim.

  6. April 19, 2021

    Walmart Punished In Opioid MDL For Discovery Defiance

    Walmart Inc. intentionally flouted its discovery duties in multidistrict opioid litigation, and the retail giant concocted disingenuous and nonsensical excuses for its failures, according to a new ruling that awarded sanctions and threatened "serious monetary fines" for future violations.

  7. April 08, 2021

    Opioid Judge Withdraws After AbbVie Elevates His Atty Sister

    Despite drugmaker warnings of "harmful and unwarranted" disruption, an Illinois magistrate judge withdrew Thursday from Chicago's bellwether case against drugmakers in multidistrict opioid litigation after the city flagged his sister's new role overseeing thousands of opioid cases for AbbVie Inc.

  8. April 07, 2021

    Opioid MDL Judge Picks New Bellwethers, Denies Retaliating

    The Ohio federal judge supervising multidistrict opioid litigation selected five additional cases Wednesday for bellwether trials against major pharmacy chains, while flatly rejecting assertions that he's punishing the companies for not settling.

  9. April 05, 2021

    Pharmacies Can't Escape More Trials In Opioid MDL

    An Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over the opioid crisis said Monday he won't rethink his order directing parties to tee up another batch of bellwether trials against four major pharmacy chains, reiterating his earlier decision that more bellwethers are necessary to determine the value of the claims.

  10. April 02, 2021

    Pharmacies Take Swipe At Judge Amid Tightening Opioid MDL

    The nation's biggest pharmacy chains, increasingly squeezed by multidistrict opioid litigation as other major drug companies eye the exits, are lashing out with insinuations of judicial bias in a bold bid to avoid choosing between treacherous trials and super-sized settlements.