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Abstract

The devastating impact of the national opioid epidemic has given rise to hundreds of lawsuits. This article details the extremely broad range of legal claims, compares the opioid cases to other public health litigation efforts, including tobacco, and describes the special mechanism — a multidistrict litigation — through which more than 700 opioid-related cases have been consolidated thus far, with settlement almost certain to follow.

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98.

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99.

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100.

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101.

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102.

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103.

Id .

104.

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105.

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106.

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107.

Id., at 7

108.

See, e.g., Durr v. Strickland, 602 F.3d 788, 789 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 2147 (2010); Schneller v. Crozer Chester Med’l Ctr., 387 Fed. Appx. 289, 293 (3rd Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 131 S. Ct. 1684 (2011)(“Congress…authorized No private right of action for the enforcement of the [CSA]).

109.

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110.

Id .

111.

Memorandum in Support of Defendant McKesson Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint, Cabell County Commission v. AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation et al. at 11, No. 3:17-cv-01665 (S.D. W.Va. 2017).

112.

113.

Memorandum in Support of Miami-Luken, Inc’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint at 3, Kanawha County Commission v. Rite Aid of Maryland, Inc. et al., No. 2:17-cv-01666 (S.D. W.Va. 2017); Memorandum in Support of Defendant Walgreen’s Motion to Dismiss at 13, Kanawha County Commission v. Rite Aid of Maryland, Inc. et al, No. 2:17-cv-01666 (S.D. W.Va. 2017); Memorandum in Support of Defendant Kroger’s Motion to Dismiss at 13, Kanawha County Commission v. Rite Aid of Maryland, Inc. et al., No. 2:17-cv-01666 (S.D. W.Va. 2017).

114.

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115.

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116.

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117.

Complaint: Jury Trial Demanded and Endorsed Herein, State of Ohio ex rel. Mike DeWine v. Purdue Pharma, No. 2017CL261 (Ct. Com. Pl. 2017).

118.

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125.

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128.

28 U.S.C. §1407 (West 2018).

129.

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Civil Litigation and the Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Courts in a National Health Crisis

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