Publication Archive: Opioids Litigation

Napoli Shkolnik PLLC partner Hunter Shkolnik, whose firm has had a prominent role in the existing opioid MDL and represents cities and counties suing McKinsey, criticized the company’s bid for a new MDL in New York. “McKinsey cut a sweetheart deal with state AGs to cover up its corrupt conduct, and now it is running…Read the article

A New York state judge on Monday set a new June trial date for the long-anticipated New York attorney general’s suit over the opioid crisis, which has been delayed multiple times due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Although we are disappointed that the trial will not start in the next two weeks, we see light at…Read the article

A major trial against opioid makers by New York’s attorney general and local governments will not start at the end of March as planned, a judge ruled Friday, citing ongoing pandemic safety concerns. “Setting the trial has not only helped spark discussions in New York but also in California and also nationally,” Napoli said, arguing…Read the article

Drug companies, distributors and pharmacies asked the New York state judge overseeing the state’s suit over the opioid crisis to again delay the trial. Hunter Shkolnik, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told Law360 that the judge had adopted a jury questionnaire submitted months previously. “Given the jury questionnaire order just issued it appears the court…Read the article

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