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 U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland ruled six weeks before
the first scheduled federal trial over the epidemic, in a case
brought by Cuyahoga and Summit counties in Ohio.
Polster also rejected efforts by Purdue, pharmacies such as
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and drug distributors such as
AmerisourceBergen Corp to exclude testimony from a Harvard Medical
School economist who believes the two counties suffered as much as
$223.4 million of damages from 2006 to 2018.
The decisions follow a series of rulings from Polster on Sept. 3
favoring the counties, including that they could pursue civil
conspiracy claims against the defendants.
Purdue, which makes OxyContin, and its billionaire owners, the
Sackler family, have been trying to negotiate a settlement over its
responsibility for the opioid epidemic.
Addiction to the painkillers has claimed roughly 400,000 lives in
the United States from 1999 to 2017, according to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
Purdue is expected to seek bankruptcy protection this month absent a
settlement, three people familiar with the matter said last week.
The Stamford, Connecticut-based company said on Monday that
"negotiations continue" with state attorneys general and other
plaintiffs, repeating its statement from a day earlier.
"While the company is prepared to defend itself vigorously in the
opioid litigation, Purdue has made clear that it prefers a
constructive global resolution," it said.
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Paul Hanly, a lawyer for the counties, said Polster offered
"numerous sound reasons" not to dismiss the litigation.
Polster oversees roughly 2,000 opioid lawsuits by various
municipalities and entities, and the outcome of the scheduled Oct.
21 trial could affect those cases.
A bankruptcy filing would likely remove Purdue from that trial.
Polster said the Ohio counties offered enough evidence for jurors to
conclude that Purdue intentionally misrepresented the risks of
opioid use, for the purpose of increasing sales.
He also said the economist, Thomas McGuire, had offered "outside,
neutral and authoritative sources" showing his methodology for
estimating damages.
The drugmakers Allergan Plc, Endo International Plc and Mallinckrodt
Plc have settled with the counties for a combined $39 million in
cash.
Other defendants in opioid cases include Johnson & Johnson; pharmacy
operators CVS Health Corp, Rite Aid Corp and Walmart Inc;
distributors Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp and generic
drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David
Gregorio)
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