Five More Pharmacy Bellwether Trials

in

Unlike “drug manufacturers and the largest distributors, which have expressed openness to paying billions to state and local governments for their alleged roles in fueling the opioid crisis,” the pharmacies continue to gun for trial. And Judge Polster, the federal judge overseeing the opioid multi-district litigation, recently selected five more cases for bellwether trials against the big pharmacy chains:

  • Durham County, NC (Fourth Circuit)

  • Tarrant County, TX (Fifth Circuit)

  • Montgomery County, OH (Sixth Circuit)

  • Santa Fe County, NM (Tenth Circuit)

  • Cobb County, GA (Eleventh Circuit)

The decision is associated with some fuss. “‘There was a suggestion that I was somehow punishing [pharmacy defendants] or penalizing them because they didn’t want to settle these cases now,’ Judge Polster said, according to the transcript. ‘And I’m not doing that at all.’”