What Happened In The MassTorts World Last Week? 2020-Feb-03

Warren County Sues 29 Companies Over Opioid Crisis

On Friday, Warren County filed a lawsuit in the United States Federal District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Bowling Green Division, against 29 companies involved in the manufacturing, selling, and distribution of opioids drugs.

Attorney, Lee Coleman, said that the opioid epidemic caused in Warren County, and throughout the U.S. is because of the robust marketing of opioids by the 29 companies. Coleman even claimed that the companies were aware of how harmful the opioids were but hid the fact from the users.

As per the reports, the county is looking forward to collecting damages for the havoc created in the county because of the opioids. Judge executive, Michael Buchanon of Warren County indicated that if they receive settlement money from the companies, then a huge percentage of that money will be used for addiction and recovery programs.

Meanwhile, the Federal Judge Robert Drain, overseeing the bankruptcy case of Purdue Pharma, has set a deadline of June 30 to file claims against the company over the opioid crisis. The state and local governments are already driving the legal battle against the opioid manufacturer. Now, government entities such as hospitals, and even individuals can file a lawsuit to seek settlement over the opioid crisis.

Practice Fusion, Inc. To Pay $145M In Opioid Case

On Monday, Vermont U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan announced that the company Practice Fusion, Inc., will pay $145 million to settle criminal and civil charges as they encouraged physicians to prescribe opioids to patients who might not need them, by setting up an electronic health records system.

According to the court documents, Practice Fusion created an electronic health record system for a pharma company and solicited nearly $1 million payment in return. The system resulted in increased prescription of opioids that were not medically necessary.

The company will pay $26 million in criminal fines and forfeiture. In a separate civil settlement, Practice Fusion agreed to pay $118.6 million to resolve the allegations that it accepted payments from pharma companies helping the users to submit false claims for federal incentive payments.

In 2018, electronic health records company Allscripts acquired Practice Fusion. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office, the settlement is the largest criminal fine in federal court history in Vermont.

Plaintiffs Claim Recalled Valsartan Pills Preserved Badly

Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the federal valsartan litigation indicated that the drug makers have not preserved recalled pills properly, possibly spoiling or destroying important evidence about contaminated versions of the blood pressure drug.

On January 14, a letter was sent to U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider, stating that the recalled valsartan pills have been destroyed, and asking the court to intervene. The Plaintiffs attorneys are asking the court to issue an order reiterating the drug makers’ obligations to preserve evidence.

In response to the letter, the drug makers attorneys argued that the preservation requests by the plaintiffs are asking them to violate federal law, which has strict rules on the retrieval of recalled products and what should happen with the pills. The letter indicates that the plaintiffs want every manufacturer, wholesaler, and pharmacy to use significant resources to preserve and store every valsartan pill.

On January 16, Magistrate Judge Schneider issued a new order indicating several discovery problems but did not directly address the preservation of the pills. However, the order reiterates that any communications between defendants and the FDA regarding the pills and recalls within seven days of them being sent or received should be given to the plaintiffs. The issue is expected to be discussed in the next status conference scheduled for January 28.

Philly District Sued Over Asbestos Contamination In School

A union representing Philadelphia school teachers has demanded the school district to address the widespread asbestos problems by monitoring and removing asbestos from school as it will harm the health of teachers as well as the students.

On January 20, the president of Philadelphia Federation Of Teachers, the AFL-CIO, and other union groups filed a lawsuit against the School District of Philadelphia (PSD) and its superintendent, William R. Hite, Jr. in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

The district consisting of 125,000 students and 13,000 employees had to recently shut down six schools due to the growing impact of asbestos in the school campuses. Hence, it resulted in the teacher's union filing a lawsuit against the district.

Schools that closed due to asbestos contamination included Laura H. Carnell School and the Alexander K. McClure School. Both the schools Carnell and McClure reopened on January 13 and January 15 respectively, but further investigation revealed that McClure still contains a high level of asbestos fibers, which are harmful to teachers and students resulting in the closure of the school within two days on January 17.

Union alleges that the district officials did not share the details and proceedings of the asbestos investigation reports. Hence, the outcome of the lawsuit will force the district officials to share the results and investigation process with the teacher's union. District officials have stated that they are reviewing the complaint by implying the law.

J&J CEO Testifies In NJ Court Over Talcum Powder Trial

Johnson & Johnson's Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky was called for the first time in the court, to testify in the lawsuit of the company's baby powder, causing cancer.

The lawsuit filed at a state courtroom in New Brunswick, New Jersey, near the company’s headquarters included three men and one woman. According to the lawsuit, all four plaintiffs are suffering from mesothelioma, a rare and incurable cancer. All four plaintiffs claim that they contracted cancer due to their exposure to asbestos in baby powder, which was applied when they were infants.

The jury held J&J liable for the plaintiffs’ cancers and awarded them $37.2 million in compensation in the early phase of the trial. Now the lawyers for plaintiffs are seeking to persuade a second jury claiming that punitive damages are necessary for the reckless behavior of J&J.

Gorsky testified that he was not aware of the safety measures of the powder as the issue can be traced back in 2012 before he joined the company. The attorneys for J&J responded to the statement by saying that they will look into the issue, which might result in dragging the previous executives to the court.

Currently, J&J faces 16,000 lawsuits against their baby powder. Lawsuits claim that the company failed to warn users about the contamination of powder because of asbestos.

Cuyahoga, Summit Counties Opioid Trial Set For Oct. 2020

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in an order stated that he would preside over a trial starting Oct. 7, 2020, for claims made by Cuyahoga and Summit counties against pharmacy companies for fuelling the opioids epidemic.

According to the order, that involves trial against CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Discount Drug Mart, and HBC, which is part of Giant Eagle, the jury selection for the trial will take place between Oct. 7 and Oct. 9, 2020. The Opening statements will commence the following Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The judge in the order noted that trying the case in Cleveland with the two counties will result in faster discovery as the counties produced documents to the defendants when preparing for last month’s canceled trial. The drug manufacturers had also produced documents to the counties in the lead up to the trial.

In a separate order, Judge Polster wrote that it would be best if lawsuits filed by Chicago, the Cherokee Nation, and the city and county of San Francisco were immediately sent back to the courts where they originated so federal judges in other states can oversee proceedings and preside over trials.

J&J To Pay $344M Over Mesh Lawsuits

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has to pay $344 million over the lawsuits alleging the company for deceptive marketing of surgical mesh devices for use in pelvic procedures in women, as ordered by a Californian judge.

In 2016, California Attorney General Kamala Harris sued J&J along with its Ethicon unit alleging, the company wrongly marketed the device as being safe for stress urinary incontinence and failed to inform about the serious risks such as chronic pain and sexual dysfunction.

California’s current attorney general, Xavier Becerra, stated that profit was the main motive of J&J over the health of millions of women. The settlement for the lawsuit has brought justice to the women who suffered from the side effects of the device.

The spokesperson for J&J said that the company would appeal the decision as their Ethicon business effectively communicated the risks and benefits of the transvaginal mesh products to doctors and patients. The company even argued that during the 2019 trial, the state failed to prove any miscommunication from Ethicon.

J&J has settled many litigations over the safety of its mesh devices, which also includes an October 2019 agreement to pay $116.9 million to 41 states and the District of Columbia. Currently, J&J faces lawsuits from about 100,000 plaintiffs over the safety and false marketing of a range of products, including opioids and baby powder.