Judge Rejects California Bid To Hold Drugmakers Liable For Opioid Crisis
Bucking trends in other legal cases, Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson issued a tentative ruling that could free four major pharmaceutical companies from legal responsibility for the painkiller addiction epidemic in parts of California.
Stat:
In A First, A California Judge Rules Drug Makers Are Not Liable For The Opioid Crisis
For the first time, drug makers won a court victory in the massive litigation over the opioid epidemic, defeating local governments in California that claimed the company created a public health crisis through misleading marketing of the prescription painkillers. In a tentative decision on Monday, Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson rejected arguments that Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, and Endo International had deceived the public about the addictive risks of the opioids, promoted them for unintended uses, and encouraged overprescribing by physicians. (Silverman, 11/1)
NPR:
A California Court Says Drug Companies Aren't Liable For The State's Opioid Crisis
The companies denied any wrongdoing. If found liable, they would likely have been forced to pay for a wide range of costly public health and drug treatment programs. In his 41-page ruling, however, Judge Peter J. Wilson said it was unclear the drug industry's marketing efforts led to directly to a rise in illegal use of prescription opioid painkillers. "The Court finds that plaintiffs have failed to prove an actionable public nuisance for which defendants, or any of them, are legally liable," Wilson concluded. (Mann, 11/1)
Bloomberg:
J&J, Teva Beat $50 Billion Opioid Case In First Industry Win
Officials in Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Orange counties and the city of Oakland sought as much as $50 billion to beef up policing and treatment budges depleted by the epidemic. It’s the first time a judge or jury has rejected claims by states or local governments that ex-opioid makers should be held liable for the fallout from the U.S. opioid epidemic, which has claimed the lives of almost 500,000 Americans over the last two decades. (Feeley, 11/1)
