In a hearing held in Pasco County, Circuit Judge Declan Mansfield denied defendants' motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., CVS Pharmacy Inc., and Walgreen Co. of misleading doctors into prescribing opioids.
Attorney General Ashley Moody stated, "today's ruling ... marks another victory in our fight to end the national opioid crisis claiming 17 lives a day in Florida. Our litigation seeks to hold responsible the major corporations that profited off the pain and suffering of Floridians and to ensure it never happens again." In its amended complaint filed in November 2018, the Florida Attorney General’s Office sued the companies accusing them of selling and shipping an enormous amount of opioids into Florida and indulging in wrong practices to increase opioid prescription rates. The state held the companies responsible for the opioid crisis which was the reason for thousands of overdose deaths in Florida and unfortunate consequences due to opioid addiction, including babies born with an addiction to opioids, children being placed in foster care after parents died due to overdose, chronic addiction, and rise in emergency medical services. Florida's opioid litigation is just one of the many ongoing litigations in the fight against the national opioid crisis.
