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Brunswick, GA— Openings are expected Monday in what is believed to be the nation’s first state court jury trial brought by private plaintiffs over the opioid epidemic, with CVN streaming the Georgia court proceedings. Poppell, et al. v. Cardinal Health Inc., et al., CE19-00472.
According to court records, more than 20 plaintiffs, many of whom are minors, claim defendants, including McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, and J M Smith, Corp., improperly distributed opioids, leading to addiction and catastrophic fallout from the drugs.
The defendants deny responsibility.
Unlike the initial wave of opioid litigation brought by state and local governments, largely under public nuisance laws, this case is brought under Georgia’s Drug Dealer Liability Act, O.C.G.A. § 51-1-46, which allows civil damages for individuals injured as a result of drug use, as well as Georgia’s RICO Act, O.C.G.A. § 16-14-4(c), and common law negligence theories of liability.
The jury trial, in Glynn County, Georgia Superior Court, before Judge Roger Lane, is expected to take about four weeks.
Opioid manufacturers and distributors are facing thousands of claims nationwide from both public and private plaintiffs. Over the last four years, CVN has covered several opioid trials brought by government plaintiffs, including in Oklahoma, Florida, New York, and California courts. Claims brought by state governments have led to a range of results. In Oklahoma for example, a judgment for the state was ultimately thrown out by the Oklahoma State Supreme Court. A New York proceeding led to a jury verdict in favor of the state's Attorney General, while proceedings in Florida and elsewhere have ended in mid-trial settlements.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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