Publication Source Archive: Law360

The Ohio federal judge overseeing opioid multidistrict litigation has refused to toss two Ohio counties’ bellwether cases against pharmacies, allowing their public nuisance claims over the dispensing and distribution of opioids to move forward. “We were confident in the strength of the case against the national chain pharmacies like CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart, Walgreens and…Read the article

“By withdrawing the motion seeking class certification, proposed class counsel recognized the legal infirmities the proposed class suffered,” Hunter J. Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, representing the plaintiffs opposed to the Ramirez deal, told Law360 on Wednesday. “Now maybe Monsanto will properly compensate the victims of Roundup.”Read the article

A California federal judge has refused to postpone a hearing on a proposed $1.25 billion class action settlement seeking to resolve potential claims from users of Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller who haven’t sued the company or developed cancer yet, saying there’s no reason to delay when the court is already “skeptical” that the settlement is fair.…Read the article

Two Ohio counties urged a federal judge to shut down requests by pharmacy chains to toss claims that they created a public nuisance by failing to monitor suspicious opioid orders that helped fuel an epidemic of painkiller addiction, saying the state’s public nuisance law fits their claims.  Read the article

The lawsuits center on claims that CBH and United Behavioral Health worked with fellow defendant Viant to short payments for claims related to substance use and mental health treatment. A group of patients brought two of the suits, while a group of behavioral health providers launched the other two. “The day of reckoning for them…Read the article

A group of pharmacies is asking an Ohio federal judge to dismiss complaints by two Ohio counties alleging the pharmacies contributed to the opioid epidemic, saying the counties are suing under public nuisance laws that don’t fit their claims. An attorney for the counties, Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik, told Law360, “The chain pharmacy defendants,…Read the article

A New York federal judge has ruled that Dow Chemical Co., Ferro Corp. and Vulcan Materials Corp. must face claims from two dozen New York water authorities and municipalities alleging they allowed a toxic chemical to get into their groundwater. Paul J. Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, representing Hicksville Water District in a related case…Read the article

The lawsuits center on claims that CBH and United Behavioral Health worked with fellow defendant Viant to short payments for claims related to substance use and mental health treatment. A group of patients brought two of the suits, while a group of behavioral health providers launched the other two.  Read the article

The ruling affirms Judge Kahn’s 2017 decision to allow claims by residents of the Village of Hoosick Falls, New York, for damages related to medical monitoring to advance, as well as their personal injury, property damage, trespass and nuisance claims. The residents say they ingested PFOA-laced water as a result of contamination from one or…Read the article

Hunter J. Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, one of the top plaintiffs attorneys representing local governments in litigation over the opioid epidemic, recently spoke with Law360 about working from home now that he’s off the road and the benefits of teleconferencing for attorneys.  Read the article