J&J and other pharma giants secure first legal win in €43bn opioid legal case

Opioid crisis on US: Sprawling four-year litigation in the US over the drugs.

Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical, and other former opioid makers have scored the pharmaceutical industry’s first win in the sprawling four-year litigation in the US over the drugs. They  defeated a lawsuit by local governments in California that claimed they created a public-health crisis through misleading marketing.

Superior court judge Peter Wilson in Santa Ana rejected claims that units of J&J, Teva, Endo International, and Abbvie's Allergan duped doctors and patients about the addictiveness of opioid painkillers and created a 'public nuisance' tied to the medications. 

Officials in Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Orange counties and the city of Oakland sought up to $50bn (€43bn) to beef up policing and treatment budges depleted by the epidemic.

It’s the first time a judge or jury has rejected claims by states or local governments that former opioid makers should be held liable for the fallout from the US opioid epidemic, which has claimed the lives of almost 500,000 Americans over the last two decades. Teva shares rose 9% today.

“The court finds plaintiffs failed to prove an actionable public nuisance for which the defendants are legally liable,” Judge Wilson concluded in a tentative ruling.

Lawyers for the local governments said they’ll ask a California appeals court to review the ruling.

“The people of California will have their opportunity to pursue justice on appeal and ensure no opioid manufacturer can engage in reckless corporate practices that compromise public health in the state for their own profit,” they said in a statement.

J&J said it’s pleased Judge Wilson found its Janssen unit’s opioid marketing and promotion “were appropriate and responsible and did not cause any public nuisance,” according to a statement. 

John Hueston, a lawyer for Endo, said the judge properly found the company “did not make false or misleading statements, and Endo’s lawful conduct did not cause the widespread public nuisance at issue in plaintiffs’ complaint.” 

Teva also praised the ruling, while saying the company recognises that communities in the US still suffer from the fallout of the opioid epidemic and need help.

“A clear win for the many patients in the US who suffer from opioid addiction will only come when comprehensive settlements are finalised and resources are made available to all who need them,” the Israel-based drugmaker said in a statement. 

• Bloomberg