A magistrate judge recommended that a bellwether trial against the opioid industry proceed, rejecting nearly all the arguments presented by manufacturers, distributors and retailers in their motions to dismiss hundreds of lawsuits accusing them of causing a national crisis.
A settlement binding all potential plaintiffs may be the only practical way of ending nearly 2,000 lawsuits against manufacturers, distributors and retailers of addictive opioid painkillers, said plaintiff lawyers attending a conference on opioid litigation this week.
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) – Large pharmacy chains are asking why they are being sued by hundreds of cities and counties over the opioid crisis instead of the criminals who pushed drugs to addicts.
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. government wants a seat at the table as lawyers for hundreds of municipalities and other plaintiffs negotiate a potentially multibillion-dollar settlement of lawsuits over the opioid addiction crisis, citing its “substantial financial stake” in the matter and need to recover its own costs.
