(Reuters) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by the state alleging the drugmaker fueled the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers.
The court in a 5-1 vote ruled that the state's public nuisance law does not extend to the manufacturing, marketing and sales of prescription opioids and that a trial judge went too far in holding that it did.
J&J had no immediate comment. A spokesperson for Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The decision marked the latest setback for states and local governments pursuing lawsuits seeking to hold drug companies responsible for a drug abuse crisis the U.S. government says led to nearly 500,000 opioid overdose deaths over two decades.
The case against J&J by Oklahoma's attorney general was the first to go to trial nationally of more than 3,000 similar cases against pharmaceutical manufacturers, drug distributors and pharmacies.
A similar trial in California pitting several large counties against J&J and three other drugmakers resulted in a judge on Nov. 1 ruling in the companies' favor and concluding the epidemic could not be considered a public nuisance.
(Reuters) — Four large pharmacy chains are set to face their first trial over the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, creating new pressure to reach settlements with state and local governments who accuse them of contributing to the public health crisis.