State AG News

Without evidence and unable to make public nuisance argument, Delaware's opioid claims against Walgreens fail

WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - A Delaware judge has refused to certify the state’s appeal of an order dismissing its opioid claims against Walgreens, at least temporarily upholding a rare industry victory in litigation over the opioid crisis.

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 11, 2019

State AG

Attorney: Private lawyers hired by local governments are the 'single greatest threat to attorneys general'

CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – City, county and tribal governments' strategy of hiring private plaintiff's attorneys in opioid and other litigation is causing a "misalignment of the values" between those entities and the traditional primacy of state attorneys general, a government litigation expert said.

By Karen Kidd | Dec 11, 2019

Latest News

New York's 'ill-conceived' lawsuit against Exxon is rejected by judge

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 10, 2019

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) The flagship lawsuit of the #ExxonKnew climate litigation campaign was sent to the bottom today after a New York judge rejected all claims brought by the office of Attorney General Letitia James, including fraud charges the state’s lawyers unexpectedly dropped at the close of trial.

'Fake news': Senate hasn't reached deal on PFAS, sources say, as Dems told 'enough is enough'

By John O'Brien | Dec 5, 2019

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Reports of a U.S. Senate deal that would classify certain chemicals as “hazardous substances” under the federal Superfund law (and give trial lawyers more targets for lawsuits as a result) are false, say sources familiar with the issue.

More than 500 cities and counties reject opioid class action, will pursue lawsuits on their own

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 4, 2019

CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - More than 500 cities and counties opted out of the unprecedented “negotiation class” proposed by plaintiff lawyers to settle sprawling opioid litigation, leaving 98% of the 34,458 U.S. cities and counties technically still in the class.

Exxon takes its swing against attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York after failed fraud claims

By Daniel Fisher | Nov 21, 2019

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - ExxonMobil has asked the judge who heard New York’s highly publicized climate lawsuit against it to issue a ruling saying the state failed to prove its securities fraud claims at trial, hoping to defuse copycat lawsuits by Massachusetts and other plaintiffs across the country accusing ExxonMobil of manipulating public opinion about global warming.

Tort reform head says PFAS issue could cause runaway litigation

By John Sammon | Nov 20, 2019

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – The president of the American Tort Reform Association told members of Congress on Tuesday that litigation could get out of hand unless federal regulators adopt a commonsense, fair approach to dealing with the PFAS chemicals that activists claim are poisoning the nation’s water supplies.

Oklahoma wanted decades of funding from opioid verdict, but will get only one year's worth

By John O'Brien | Nov 15, 2019

NORMAN, Okla. (Legal Newsline) – Oklahoma’s landmark verdict in its opioid case against Johnson & Johnson does not mean the company must pump billions of dollars into the state over the next 30 years, a judge ruled Friday.

New York's incredible shrinking lawsuit against Exxon could mean trouble for Massachusetts

Nov 15, 2019

New York’s surprising decision to drop half its case against ExxonMobil in the closing arguments of a closely watched trial over climate-fraud claims was unusual and probably indicates the state never had the evidence it needed, said an experienced litigator who has handled environmental lawsuits for government clients.

Fee-fight emerges in Purdue Pharma bankruptcy over paying plaintiffs firms

By Daniel Fisher | Nov 13, 2019

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - Fighting has erupted among creditors in the multibillion-dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, as attorneys representing individual claimants and other creditors object to paying millions of dollars in fees to private lawyers representing governmental claimants - including thousands of municipalities with federal lawsuits against the opioid industry.

Trade group: Misunderstanding of medical sterilization chemical could lead to shortages, harm patients

By Karen Kidd | Nov 12, 2019

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – With possible shortages looming amid debate over environmental impacts of ethylene oxide, a gas used to sterilize billions of medical devices each year, an industry advocate is advocating a more reasoned view of how the gas is used.

'Wholly inadequate': Lawyers seek more opioid money by avoiding global settlement process

Nov 12, 2019

A proposed “negotiation class” to settle all opioid litigation by U.S. cities and counties could be in deep trouble, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit considers an appeal of the order creating the controversial class and lawyers in two states with big claims urge their clients to opt out before a Nov. 22 deadline.

Purdue Pharma gets six-month reprieve from lawsuits as legal fees explode

Nov 9, 2019

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy granted the OxyContin maker and its controlling Sackler family a six-month stay of opioid litigation as they try to negotiate a $10 billion-plus settlement of all outstanding claims.

New York AG drops two of her claims as trial against Exxon closes; Company calls her case a 'cruel joke'

By John Sammon | Nov 8, 2019

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Closing arguments were made Thursday in a historic civil trial in New York Supreme Court in which the state’s attorney general alleges the oil giant Exxon Mobil deceived investors by minimizing the future cost impacts of climate change to paint a rosier fiscal picture.

New York scores January trial date for its opioid lawsuit

Nov 7, 2019

A New York judge has scheduled a Jan. 20 trial for opioid lawsuits by New York State and two counties, setting a short timeline for the companies to settle or face potentially crippling liability.

Massachusetts' lawsuit against ExxonMobil is 'dangerous' attack on free speech, professor says

By Dan Fisher | Nov 5, 2019

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - The sweeping lawsuit Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has filed against ExxonMobil represents a serious attack on the First Amendment by accusing the company of expressing views about science the state disagrees with, said a law professor prominent in the field of freedom of expression and corporate speech.

Taxpayers fund 'rambling' testimony as judge looks skeptical of New York's case against Exxon

By Dan Fisher | Nov 1, 2019

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York taxpayers might want a refund on their $500,000 investment in a $1,050-an-hour expert after the judge hearing the state’s closely watched climate lawsuit against ExxonMobil repeatedly interrupted his testimony with skeptical questions about his methodology and assumptions.

New York's climate change case against Exxon seems to be annoying the judge hearing it

By Dan Fisher | Oct 30, 2019

Compounding the state’s problems is a series of courtroom miscues by its lawyers that have led Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager to criticize and belittle them multiple times since trial began Oct. 22.

A rundown of the cabal of lawyers, activists and public officials with an anti-Exxon agenda

By John O'Brien | Oct 29, 2019

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – The ongoing trial in New York City is giving ExxonMobil another chance to show that nonprofits, private lawyers and elected officials have for years targeted the company as a scapegoat for climate change.

While New York goes to trial, Massachusetts AG finally sues ExxonMobil over climate change statements

By Daniel Fisher | Oct 28, 2019

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has launched her long-threatened lawsuit against ExxonMobil, accusing the oil giant of “deceiving the world about climate change” and defrauding investors by failing to fully disclose the risks embedded in its portfolio of hydrocarbon reserves.

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