Daniel Fisher News
Pharmacies facing opioid lawsuits file claims against doctors who did the prescribing
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.
Fee-fight emerges in Purdue Pharma bankruptcy over paying plaintiffs firms
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.
Ohio AG to colleagues: Let's limit fees to private lawyers in opioid settlement
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has warned his fellow AGs that a reported $50 billion settlement of opioid claims will fall apart unless the states demand tight controls on fees to private lawyers and make sure the rest of the money is directed toward programs designed to address the opioid crisis, instead of state general funds.
After fiery hearing, Purdue Pharma gets two-week break from opioid lawsuits
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - The federal bankruptcy judge overseeing Purdue Pharma’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization granted the OxyContin manufacturer and its controlling Sackler family a two-week respite from opioid litigation to work on a settlement that appeases warring state attorneys general and a growing list of municipal and private plaintiffs.
'Absolute panic' as cities, counties face deadline on opioid 'negotiation class'
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Cities and counties are worried and confused as they face a November deadline to join or opt out of an unprecedented “negotiation class” that could determine how much money they get from opioid litigation, a lawyer who represents Texas municipalities said.
Purdue Pharma, in opting for bankruptcy, says global settlement of opioid litigation is impossible
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy protection, as expected, setting off an expensive process the company says is the only way to “bring order to the unrelenting chaos” of “piecemeal litigation” against it.
Opioid judge approves `negotiation class’ over objections of state AGs and defendants
In a move that appeared preordained after his comments at an August hearing, U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster approved an unprecedented “negotiation class” of every city and county nationwide to try and reach a global settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Oklahoma judge feeds the 'monster' with $572M opioid ruling against Johnson & Johnson
Sixteen years ago in a case involving gunmaker Sturm, Ruger & Co., a New York appeals court refused to apply public nuisance law against the manufacturer of a legal product, saying that doing so would transform nuisance law “into a monster that would devour in one gulp the entire law of tort.”
Private lawyers stand to make $90 million as judge hits Johnson & Johnson with $572M opioid ruling
NORMAN, Okla. (Legal Newsline) - A state judge in Oklahoma has blamed Johnson & Johnson for the state's opioid crisis and ordered it to pay $572 million in damages, extending public nuisance law beyond its traditional boundaries into what may become an all-purpose tool for government lawsuits against product manufacturers.
Opioid judge supports `negotiating class,’ tells critics like state AGs to `come up with a better model’
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors left little doubt he supports a plan developed by private lawyers to assemble an unprecedented “negotiating class” consisting of every city and county in the U.S.
Ohio AG slams 'power grab' of private lawyers pushing the opioid litigation
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Stepping forcefully into a debate that has been brewing since private lawyers first started recruiting local governments to sue the opioid industry, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and the National Association of Attorneys General have urged the federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation to reject a proposed “negotiation class” consisting of every city and county in the country.
Opioid lawyers propose a global settlement team; Pa. attorney critical, says it's likely a ploy to boost their fees
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Acknowledging it is “likely impossible” to negotiate individual settlements on behalf the nearly 2,000 cities and counties suing the opioid industry, plus thousands more watching from the sidelines, plaintiff lawyers have proposed a unique solution: A “negotiation class” designed to strike a global bargain on behalf of every municipality in the country.
Pelvic mesh lawyers pressured clients to dismiss cases to avoid costs of trial
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - A law firm representing thousands of pelvic mesh plaintiffs gave some of its clients two days to decide whether to dismiss their lawsuits and accept a proffered settlement from Johnson & Johnson, or risk incurring substantial costs preparing for trial.
Multidistrict litigation swamps courts as rules struggle to catch up; Is reform on the way?
Multidistrict litigation – sprawling cases sometimes involving thousands of plaintiffs from all over the country – now represents more than half of the civil caseload in federal courts, according to a new survey, yet defendants complain the rules governing them are largely judge-made and haphazardly enforced.
N.C. hog farmers press for reversal of $500M in nuisance verdicts
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) - North Carolina hog farmers, supported by national farming and manufacturing groups, have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to reverse a $50 million nuisance verdict that was the opening shot in litigation that has delivered more than $500 million in verdicts for property owners who say they are being annoyed by noise and smells emanating from nearby farms.
Trump DOJ acts on threat to trial lawyers who sue on behalf of the government
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The Department of Justice's recent effort to toss lawsuits it says it wasted hundreds of hours investigating is emblematic of a strategy under President Donald Trump to rein in trial lawyers who are using a federal whistleblower law to seek millions of dollars.
Opioid judge rejects dismissal plea, orders first lawsuits to trial
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Opioid manufacturers and distributors lost their long-shot bid to end more than 1,000 lawsuits against them as the federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation rejected their motions to dismiss and ordered the first cases to trial next year.
Opioid plaintiffs: A small percentage of pill shipments were 'suspicious.' Or maybe it's nearly all of them
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Forced to identify opioid prescriptions they say were “suspicious” and never should have been shipped, Ohio cities and counties came up with a rough estimate. Very rough.
Trial lawyers find unusual allies in fight against arbitration: Conservative state treasurers
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Class action lawyers who see arbitration as a mortal threat to their business have found unlikely allies among some of the nation’s most conservative state officials.
Time running out for lawyers suing opioid industry to show specific proof
The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation against the opioid industry has given plaintiffs a stark choice on a tight deadline: Hand over evidence of specific prescriptions they believe were improper or lose the right to present such evidence forever.