Publication Archive: Opioids Litigation

The state of New York is signaling that it is ready to push back against two Long Island counties’ bid to de-consolidate their joint trial against opioid makers in a closely watched case. An attorney for Nassau County, Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik, told Law360 on Thursday, “We support the state of New York in…Read the article

Law360 put together “Product Liability Cases To Watch In 2021” and Partner Hunter Shkolnik was quoted in the “Opioid Bellwether Trials to Start” section of the list. Jury trials in New York have been put on hold, and the parties are still waiting to hear about a new date, according to Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli…Read the article

Two former Purdue Pharma board members have agreed to testify before House panel that’s examining the origins of the opioid crisis. “Purdue was only one small piece of the opioid crisis. We know that, they started it,” stated Hunter Shkolnik, a class action attorney. “They were that little match out in the forest that starts a…Read the article

The New York judge overseeing the state attorney general’s suit over the opioid crisis said on Friday that he will allow witnesses for the state and two Long Island counties to testify, including a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration head and a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent. “These defendants never know when to…Read the article

“The chain pharmacies have beaten this drum to death, blaming every doctor and person that became addicted in these counties because those pharmacy defendants broke the law is like saying it’s OK for a driver to speed and run a red light and run a pedestrian over because they were walking outside the lines,” Hunter…Read the article

Purdue Pharma is poised to wrap up all liability for its role in the opioid crisis in a matter of weeks after its $8.3 billion settlement with the Justice Department cleared the way to resolve outstanding bankruptcy claims. “This clears the way for a Purdue bankruptcy plan to be finalized and to be put forward…Read the article

Pharmacies have no justification for their request that the Sixth Circuit review a judge’s ruling allowing two Ohio counties’ opioid claims to go forward, other than that they disagree with the ruling, the counties said Tuesday. “The chain pharmacies are rehashing a losing, and almost laughable argument,” Hunter J. Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, one of…Read the article

A group of Ohio cities and counties asked the federal judge overseeing the opioid multidistrict litigation to sanction Teva and Allergan for the “willful” failure to produce an audit report over suspicious orders of opioids during discovery. “It was quite a surprise to see that Allergan and Teva withheld this highly relevant evidence which clearly…Read the article

U.S. District Judge Dan Poster concluded that pharmacies have an obligation on the corporate-level to design and implement policies and procedures to identify red flag prescriptions of opioids, according to the pharmacies. “This is just another example of the chain pharmacy defendants going on hands and knees begging to be relieved of their obligations to…Read the article

The (opioid) trial is expected to test allegations from New York and Suffolk and Nassau counties against major drug manufacturers and distributors. The so-called Frye hearings in the suit are used to determine the admissibility of scientific evidence. “Would it be fair to say that you determined there were departures from the appropriate standards of…Read the article