A trial will begin on May 28, Tuesday, between Oklahoma State Vs Johnson & Johnson and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries over alleged link to opioid epidemic. A $17 billion lawsuit filed by the Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter will be the first to go to trial of more than 2,000 lawsuits filed by state and local governments.
The trial will be held in front of Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman and is expected to last for eight weeks. The opioid epidemic has been linked to a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state also claims the manufacturers deceptively marketed opioids, whereas the defendants denied any wrongdoing, claiming the state lacks proper evidence.
Similar claims against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP have been resolved by the state in March for $270 million. More than 1,600 cases over the opioid crisis are filed largely by local governments, Native American tribes, and hospitals. The first trial in the MDL No. 2804 is set to start in October 2019.
