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Behind-The-Scenes Battles As Opioid MDL Jury Trial Nears

 
• By Brenda Sandburg

Expert witness "battle plan," requests for summary judgment, and squabble over DEA drug distribution data offer preview of the first US bellwether trial against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies.  

Opioid-gavel
DEA expert witness analyzed ARCOS product distribution data for the trial, which begins in October.

With two months to go until the first trial opens in the massive US litigation sparked by the opioid abuse epidemic, lawyers are waging a fierce fight over whether plaintiffs' expert witnesses should be allowed to testify and whether certain claims and individual defendants should be excluded from the litigation. The flood of filings offers a preview of the case each side will present and the financial stakes for opioid manufacturers, distributers and pharmacies.

Two suits – The County of Summit, Ohio v. Purdue Pharma LP and The County of Cuyahoga, Ohio v. Purdue Pharma – have been consolidated for the bellwether trial scheduled to begin 21 October. They are among more than 1,700 cases in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) before Judge Dan Polster, of the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

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