State AG News

After win in New York, Exxon fights to have Massachusetts lawsuit heard in federal court

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – A federal judge in Boston is considering a motion by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to send her lawsuit, which is similar to one in New York that recently failed, against Exxon back to a commonwealth court.

By Karen Kidd | Jan 22, 2020

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Oklahoma asks for a half-million in costs after opioid trial against Johnson & Johnson

NORMAN, Okla. (Legal Newsline) – The state of Oklahoma is asking the Cleveland County District Court to levy nearly a half-million dollars against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson for court costs after winning a $465 million victory over the company in August for allegedly causing the state’s opioid crisis.

By John Sammon | Jan 15, 2020

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Pharmacies in opioid MDL ordered to turn over 14 years of prescriptions as states, ACLU fight similar requests

By Daniel Fisher | Jan 14, 2020

CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge has ordered the nation’s leading pharmacy chains to turn over billions of nationwide prescription records going back 14 years - even as the American Civil Liberties Union and some states attack similar requests by the government as overbroad and an invasion of privacy.

Sides bicker over meaning of SCOTUS ruling ahead of climate change hearing

By John Breslin | Jan 10, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Final submissions are being made ahead of oral arguments in an appeal by two cities against a federal district court decision to dismiss their public nuisance action against five fossil fuel companies.

Pharmacies facing opioid lawsuits file claims against doctors who did the prescribing

By Daniel Fisher | Jan 8, 2020

CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Saying they have been unfairly targeted because of their deep pockets, pharmacies facing trial in opioid multidistrict litigation in Ohio later this year filed claims against hundreds of unnamed practitioners who may have written improper prescriptions for addictive painkillers.

New Mexico AG files talcum powder lawsuit as Johnson & Johnson racks up trial wins

By Daniel Fisher | Jan 7, 2020

SANTA FE, N.M. (Legal Newsline) - New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has sued Johnson & Johnson for failing to warn consumers about asbestos in its iconic Baby Powder even as J&J is on a winning streak convincing judges and juries that the central allegation in the state’s case is untrue.

Attorney: PFAS research provided by DuPont settlement is 'really lousy'

By Kyla Asbury | Jan 6, 2020

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) – Chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been in the headlines a lot lately, from congressional hearings to a new film starring Mark Ruffalo that follows the class action lawsuit against DuPont in the Parkersburg area.

Michigan uses drug-dealer law to sue opioid distributors; Campaign supporter among lawyers hired by AG

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 18, 2019

LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - Michigan upped the ante in the litigation war against the opioid industry, suing the nation’s largest pharmaceutical distributors under a law written to strip assets from criminal drug dealers.

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

By Daniel Fisher | Dec 11, 2019

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.

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

By Karen Kidd | Dec 11, 2019

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.

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.

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