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Opioids
Walmart says it told shareholders about opioid probe in 2018 but they sued anyway
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Walmart has asked a federal court in Delaware to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of failing to disclose a federal investigation over its opioid dispensing practices, saying it informed investors about the probe two years before news of it supposedly caused its stock to fall.
Opioids
Walmart fights motion for mistrial in key opioid trial
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Walmart rejected a “ginned up” request for mistrial or sanctions by plaintiff lawyers, who said the retail chain had compromised their case by producing more than 1,000 documents after start of a closely watched trial in federal court in Cleveland.
Opioids
In opioid trial, lawyers try to make pharmacies prove a negative
Having admitted on the front end that they won’t present any evidence of specific narcotic prescriptions the pharmacies shouldn’t have filled, lawyers led by Houston attorney Mark Lanier are trying to convince jurors it is the job of the pharmacies to prove they didn’t let improper prescriptions slip through.
Opioids
Plaintiff expert says pharmacies `coordinated efforts’ with Purdue
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - A $500-an-hour plaintiff expert helped attorney Mark Lanier pull together the strands of a landmark public-nuisance case against big pharmacy chains, telling jurors that CVS, Walgreens and Walmart all “collaborated in the campaign of misinformation” about the safety of narcotic painkillers that triggered the opioid crisis.
Opioids
Opioid judge rejects Giant Eagle's motion to dismiss despite 'full compliance' with rules
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing federal multidistrict litigation against the opioid industry rejected pharmacy operator Giant Eagle’s motions to dismiss, saying that even though the Drug Enforcement Agency found the company in “full compliance” with federal regulations after multiple inspections, only a jury can decide whether it caused a public nuisance by filling too many prescriptions.
Opioids
Public nuisance theory wins billions despite courtroom failures
Public nuisance may be the most successful legal theory ever to have failed in court
Opioids
Trial lawyers haul their mass tort winnings to tax-haven Puerto Rico
On the verge of collecting an outsized share of $2 billion in fees from the $26 billion opioid settlement, attorney Paul T. Farrell did what a growing number of fellow trial lawyers have done: He moved to Puerto Rico.
Opioids
Arkansas AG pleads for time to fix her troubled opioid lawsuit
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, facing a judge’s threat to dismiss the state’s lawsuit against opioid makers Johnson & Johnson and Endo Pharmaceuticals, pleaded for another month to correct its mistakes.
Opioids
Judge caps opioid lawyer fees at %15 - unless they worked really hard
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing federal opioid litigation capped the contingency fees available to private lawyers representing state and local governments at 15% of a proposed $26 billion settlement fund, saying any more would be unreasonable.
Opioids
Reno's power to file opioid lawsuit is questioned by Nevada Supreme Court
CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - The Nevada Supreme Court granted an opioid manufacturer’s request to halt the City of Reno’s lawsuit against it, saying state law may limit the power of cities to sue companies that are subject to state or federal regulation.
Opioids
New DEA chief's first front in the war on opioids: Biden's border and police reform policies
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -– As President Biden’s new Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram takes on the opioids crisis, some think the president's border and police reform policies make her job harder.
Opioids
$1.1 billion opioid settlement encourages New York to appease other gov't plaintiffs - and their private lawyers
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a $1.1 billion settlement of litigation against the three biggest opioid distributors that provides a likely model for a reported $26 billion national settlement and also includes a $70 million payday for private lawyers who represented cities and counties and will now urge their clients to sign off on the deal.
Opioids
Private lawyers take $27 million slice of New York's $260 million opioid settlement
Two private law firms with a pattern of heavy donations to state and local politicians will collect up to $27 million of the $260 million Johnson & Johnson is paying the State of New York and county governments to settle opioid litigation.
Opioids
Opioid makers lose key ruling in California as they seek records to help defense
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court rejected an attempt by Johnson & Johnson and other opioid makers to obtain millions of patient records they said they needed to defend against lawsuits by Los Angeles and other counties.
Opioids
Arkansas AG facing severe punishment for not turning opioid records over to defendants
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) – It could be a high-profile – and costly - punishment for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge as she pursues her state’s opioid lawsuit.
Opioids
Opioid judge threatens to abandon MDL process for pharmacies if they don't settle
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing federal multidistrict opioid litigation said a proposed bellwether trial against Walmart, Walgreens and other pharmacy chains is going off the rails and he might suspend the whole process, sending thousands of cases back to the courts where they originated.
Opioids
Pharmacies, facing opioid trials, point to hundreds of cases in which they didn't sell any drugs
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - National pharmacy chains facing a round of bellwether trials the judge overseeing federal opioid litigation hopes will convince them to negotiate a multibillion-dollar settlement complained they are still named in hundreds of lawsuits by municipalities where they have zero market share.
Opioids
Biden and DEA could clash on crime, marijuana, open borders
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - President Joe Biden hasn’t identified a candidate for permanent director of the Drug Enforcement Administration and it may be a long time before he does. The agency responsible for prosecuting the nation’s war on drugs is trapped on its own political battlefield as it faces criticism over its failure to contain the spread of deadly opioids while continuing to enforce a federal ban on marijuana that is opposed by White House officials and politicians on the left and right.
Opioids
Opioid judge threatens pharmacies with bankruptcy if they don't settle
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - As multidistrict litigation swamps federal courts, the judge overseeing the multibillion-dollar opioid MDL demonstrated why plaintiff lawyers love the strategy so much: Because it is extremely effective at extracting settlements from the companies they sue.
Opioids
Judge protects DOJ from Walmart's lawsuit over opioid litigation
SHERMAN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge in Texas dismissed Walmart’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that the Justice Department’s interpretation of federal drug laws is incorrect, saying he lacked jurisdiction because the government failed to waive its sovereign immunity from suit.