Oklahoma Supreme Court overturns opioid verdict against J&J

Abstract

Last week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a $465 million verdict against drug maker Johnson & Johnson for its alleged role in the opioid epidemic. “We hold the opioid manufacturer's actions did not create a public nuisance,” according to the opinion. “The district court erred in extending the public nuisance statute to the manufacturing, marketing, and selling of prescription drugs.” Former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed the lawsuit in 2017. “Applying the nuisance statutes to lawful products as the State requests would create unlimited and unprincipled liability for product manufacturers; this is why our Court has never applied public nuisance law to the manufacturing, marketing, and selling of lawful products,” according to the opinion. In a statement, Johnson and Johnson said its “actions relating to the marketing and promotion of these important prescription pain medications were appropriate and responsible,” but also said “the opioid crisis is a tremendously complex public health issue, and we have deep sympathy for everyone affected.”