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Drug companies win in California opioid crisis lawsuit

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Patrick Semansky/AP
A protester gathers containers that look like OxyContin bottles at an anti-opioid demonstration in front of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington on April 5, 2019. A California judge has ruled for top drug manufacturers as local governments seek billions of dollars to cover their costs from the nation’s opioid epidemic. Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson issued a tentative ruling Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, that said the governments hadn't proven the pharmaceutical companies used deceptive marketing to increase unnecessary opioid prescriptions and create a public nuisance.
California Opioid Crisis Trial
Posted at 6:33 AM, Nov 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-02 09:33:42-04

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Top drug manufacturers have won a round in a California lawsuit that blamed them for the opioid crisis and sought billions of dollars to cover the costs of dealing with it.

A judge in Orange County made a tentative ruling Monday that said local governments hadn't proven that Johnson & Johnson used deceptive marketing to inflate prescriptions of their painkillers, leading to a public nuisance. Both sides have acknowledged that there is an opioid-abuse epidemic that has claimed many lives.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Clara counties and the city of Oakland, which plan to appeal.

Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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