Opioid Bellwether Trial Delayed by Federal Judge

Introduction

According to a recent order issued by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, claims filed by four Northeast Ohio governments against opioid makers have been pushed back until October 21, this year.

The trial for the lawsuits filed by the cities of Cleveland, Akron, Cuyahoga, and Summit counties was initially set to begin on March 18 and later moved to September 3. The judge also postponed the deadlines to complete expert reports and motions before the trial. Attorneys for the governments and the drug companies sought to delay the trial asserting in their filing that the discovery was ongoing despite exhaustion. Drug manufacturers and distributors such as Purdue Pharma and Ohio-based Cardinal Health are blamed in the opioid lawsuits, which claim that the companies were aware of the opioid addiction since a long time, yet failed to take suitable measures to prevent an epidemic. The Ohio cases are the first to go for trial among a series of bellwether trials lined up this year.

Opioid overdose has been the major reason for drug overdose deaths in the U.S., with 72,000 deaths reported last November. Opioid lawsuits are consolidated into a multidistrict litigation MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation) overlooked by Judge Polster in the Northern District of Ohio.

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