Publication Source Archive: Law360

Pharmacies launched another attack on the judge overseeing opioid multidistrict litigation, telling the Sixth Circuit on Friday that he has “repeatedly disregarded” federal court rules and should be ordered to follow them. “The chain pharmacies are copying the distributors’ and manufacturers’ plan to delay, delay, delay. That failed for them,” Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik…Read the article

A group of pharmacies led by CVSPharmacy Inc, Walgreen Co. and Walmart Inc. are taking aim at droves of unnamed doctors, saying the Ohio counties suing as part of the sprawling opioid multidistrict litigation are unfairly blaming pharmacies instead of going after physicians for overprescribing the drugs. The pharmacists are bound by law to accept…Read the article

Legal guardians of babies born to mothers who took opioids during pregnancy asked the Ohio federal judge overseeing the opioid multidistrict litigation to certify a class for the purpose of medical monitoring, saying Tuesday that the babies are the most vulnerable victims of the opioid crisis. Hunter Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik, a top plaintiffs attorney…Read the article

The New York attorney general and two Long Island counties will take their suit over the deadly opioid crisis before a jury in January in what could be the second state trial over the epidemic. “Nassau County is excited for their day in court and they look forward to having these defendants in court starting…Read the article

Four attorneys general on Monday unveiled a proposed $48 billion deal with major drug companies — Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and the nation’s largest drug distributors — to resolve a wave of opioid-crisis lawsuits. Hunter J. Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, a top plaintiffs attorney in the MDL, added in an interview late Monday…Read the article

A rapid outburst of opposition to a $48 billion “settlement framework” in opioid-crisis litigation unveiled Monday by four state attorneys general may signal a shift to local governments and states fighting not only with drug companies but also with each other. The backlash from plaintiffs lawyers in the opioid multidistrict litigation and at least one…Read the article

The Sixth Circuit on Thursday rejected eleventh-hour bids by the Ohio attorney general and drug companies to block an upcoming bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation accusing drugmakers of fueling the opioid crisis, rejecting the state’s arguments that the counties in the case are usurping its authority. “Cuyahoga County is very pleased to see that both writs…Read the article

A Michigan federal judge refused to let the federal government go to the Sixth Circuit to argue it had immunity from claims brought by thousands of residents of Flint, Michigan, seeking roughly $4.5 billion over allegations that the government acted negligently during the city’s lead in the water crisis.  Read the article

The New York Attorney General’s Office said Friday it has uncovered roughly $1 billion in wire transfers by the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, that appear to be an attempt by the family to shield part of its fortune as it defended itself against a myriad of lawsuits alleging it fueled the opioid crisis.…Read the article

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan was hit with a $40 million lawsuit Wednesday alleging the insurer improperly slashed its reimbursement rates for substance abuse treatment facilities, choosing to line its own pockets instead of covering the claims even as the state faced a “worsening opioid epidemic.” Matthew M. Lavin, an attorney for the facilities,…Read the article