OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A week after reaching a $270 million settlement with the maker of OxyContin, Oklahoma’s attorney general Thursday dismissed some claims against other drugmakers in a lawsuit alleging they helped create the nation’s deadly opioid crisis.
Attorney General Mike Hunter’s office filed a motion that dismisses claims of fraud and deceit, unjust enrichment and violations of the state’s Medicaid laws against about a dozen drugmakers. Hunter’s office said in a statement that dismissing those claims does not reduce the amount of damages the state is seeking.
Hunter will continue to pursue allegations that the drugmakers created a public nuisance, which Hunter’s office said is the most important allegation against the drugmakers.
“The team and I remain laser focused on the goal we set since filing this lawsuit: holding those responsible for creating this crisis accountable and bring an end to the opioid epidemic in Oklahoma,” Hunter said.
Sabrina Strong, an attorney for Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries, which are among the companies being sued, said in a statement that dismissal of the claims shows they were groundless.
“We will continue to defend against the remaining baseless and unsubstantiated allegations,” Strong said. Trial of the state’s lawsuit is scheduled to begin on May 28 in Norman, about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
Hunter’s office
settled allegations against drugmaker
Purdue Pharma for $270 million on March 26 in the first such agreement following a wave of nearly 2,000 lawsuits against Purdue Pharma across the nation that had threatened to push the company into bankruptcy.
Nearly $200 million will go toward establishing a National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, while local governments will get $12.5 million.
In settling, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company denied any wrongdoing in connection with what Hunter called “this nightmarish epidemic” and “the worst public health crisis in our state and nation we’ve ever seen.”
