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A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 5 July 2019

Oklahoma presses opioid case against Johnson & Johnson

By SEAN MURPHY with Purdue and $85 million
Associated Press settlement with Teva both
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — So faced criticism from law-
far, Oklahoma Attorney makers, who maintained
General Mike Hunter has they should be responsible
secured about $355 mil- for dispersing funds and
lion from two groups of were left in the dark on
defendant drugmakers in settlement discussions. The
the state’s lawsuit against Purdue settlement, which
opioid manufacturers, calls for about $200 million
and he’s trying to make to go into a trust to fund an
the case that even more addiction studies center
money should come Okla- at Oklahoma State Univer-
homa’s way in the first such sity in Tulsa, prompted law-
state case to go to trial. makers to pass a bill clari-
While Hunter presses the fying that any settlement
claim that Johnson & John- funds go the state treasury.
son is to blame for Okla- After the Teva settlement
homa’s opioid epidemic, was announced, the Re-
he’s also facing criticism, publican governor and
some from his own Repub- In this Wednesday, May 29, 2019 file photo, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, center, legislative leaders argued
lican colleagues, about his watches a video deposition with attorneys Michael Burrage, left and Brad Beckworth, right, in the deal violated the spirit
team’s deal making and Norman, Okla., during Oklahoma’s trial against drugmakers blamed for contributing to the opioid of the new law and asked
go-it-alone style. crisis. to intervene in the case
Because Oklahoma’s is the Associated Press before a mediator was
first case to proceed to Some things to know about keted products represent Shortly before the start of appointed and an agree-
trial, the litigation and the the trial that began May only a tiny fraction of the Oklahoma’s trial against ment reached. The money
state’s earlier settlements 28: opioids used in Oklahoma. the drugmakers, Hunter will go into a special state
with Oxycontin-maker Pur- JOHNSON & JOHNSON’S Johnson & Johnson says dropped claims of fraud, fund that lawmakers will
due Pharma and Israeli- CASE: that much of the nation’s unjust enrichment and decide how to spend.
owned Teva Pharmaceu- The New Brunswick, New opioid crisis is the result of il- violations of the state’s “The Legislature has not
ticals are being closely Jersey-based consumer legal activity, such as drugs Medicaid laws, leaving changed its position that
watched, especially with products giant and its sub- being stolen or fraudulent- only the allegation that the money needs to go
roughly 1,500 similar law- sidiaries, including Janssen ly obtained. John Sparks, the companies created a into the state treasury,” said
suits filed by state, local Pharmaceuticals, argue the company’s Oklahoma public nuisance that must Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklaho-
and tribal governments that they participated in a counsel, said the state’s es- be abated. Experts say ma City. “That’s the law,
consolidated before a fed- lawful and strictly regulated timate is wildly overinflated Hunter’s legal strategy is a and the state statute is very
eral judge in Ohio. industry and that their mar- and described Hunter’s ef- unique one and potentially clear.” Echols said putting
fort as “a far-reaching od- a big gamble. “This is new the money into the state’s
yssey to seek damages dis- territory, and even plaintiffs general revenue fund also
guised as abatement.” admit that this is not the gives the state flexibility to
OKLAHOMA’S CASE: usual application of public deal with situations like the
Oklahoma claims the com- nuisance,” said Ausness, federal government seek-
panies are responsible for who said such claims typi- ing a share of Oklahoma’s
fueling the state’s opioid cally involve interference settlement with Purdue.
crisis by using an aggressive with the rights of the gen- THE ATTORNEYS:
and misleading marketing eral public. Hunter himself Hunter also has faced criti-
campaign that overstated was critical of cities such cism over the massive fees
the effectiveness of opioids as New York and San Fran- paid to outside attorneys
for treating a broad range cisco using public nuisance hired by the state — about
of pain, while downplaying claims to abate damage $60 million from Purdue
addiction risks. Citing John- from climate change. In a and $13 million from Teva.
son & Johnson subsidiar- 2018 editorial, Hunter said But those fees were spelled
ies that produced the raw such claims were “wanton out in the state’s contin-
materials used to produce attempts at jackpot justice gency-based contract
the drugs, Hunter last week in order to fix local deficit with outside attorneys, who
characterized the defen- problems and set national wouldn’t get paid if the
dants as the “kingpin” of energy policy.” state lost. “Experts charge
an epidemic that has cre- In defense of his editorial, $1,000 an hour, so it would
ated a generation of ad- Hunter said it’s “absurd to cost them millions of dol-
dicts and killed nearly 7,000 compare the theory of lars to try this case,” said
Oklahoma residents. The climate change with the University of Kentucky law
state has proposed a $17.5 opioid epidemic.” He said professor Richard Ausness,
billion abatement plan to the opioid epidemic can who has written extensively
abate the problem over be curtailed through a fo- about opioid litigation. “So
the next 30 years. cused series of actions, it’s pretty lucrative if you
The state rested its case this while climate change is a win, but it’s a contingency
week after presenting its “hypothetical global phe- fee and if you lose, you
last witness, a former John- nomenon with countless don’t get anything and
son & Johnson sales repre- factors and influences.” they will have invested a
sentative. THE SETTLEMENTS: lot of money in a case like
PUBLIC NUISANCE CLAIM: The state’s $270 million deal this.”q