October 07, 2022
The hugely expensive effort to prepare a new bellwether trial in multidistrict opioid litigation should cease because the Sixth Circuit might soon reject the controversial legal theory undergirding opioid cases, according to major pharmacy chains.
October 05, 2022
The watchdog overseeing implementation of a verdict against CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Walmart in multidistrict opioid litigation has a conflict of interest because he's already a special master tasked with impartial dispute resolution in the MDL, the drugstore chains said on Wednesday.
October 04, 2022
The Cherokee Nation and Walmart have agreed to settle the tribe's suit over the retailer's alleged role in the opioid crisis, according to a notice filed Monday in Oklahoma state court.
September 30, 2022
A Cleveland federal judge presiding over thousands of opioid cases appointed his special master on Friday as administrator for abatement programs mandated as part of a judgment against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, which were found liable to the tune of $650 million for contributing to prescription painkiller-related problems in two Ohio counties.
September 21, 2022
Months of talks with drug companies poised to become the next big targets in multidistrict opioid litigation haven't yielded major progress, and a "much more aggressive" approach is needed, one of the highest-ranking attorneys for MDL plaintiffs said Wednesday.
September 07, 2022
Three major pharmacy chains plan to challenge a federal judge's order to pay more than $650 million toward a plan to abate the opioid epidemic in two Northeast Ohio counties, according to notices of appeal filed Wednesday.
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.