Kroger In another recent settlement, on September 8, 2023, Kroger agreed to pay up to $1.4 billion to settle lawsuits related under a multistate settlement agreement. Kroger, a Cincinnati-based grocery chain, was accused of inadequately monitoring opioid prescriptions in its pharmacies, failing to investigate overprescribing, and withholding data from pharmacists that could help them safely distribute opioids. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, up to $1.2 billion will go to U.S. states, counties, and municipalities and $36 million will go to Native American tribes affected by the opioid crisis. Kroger did not admit to wrongdoing in agreeing to the deal. Opioid manufactures and distributers are not the only targets of opioid litigation. Indivior On June 2, 2023, Indivior agreed to pay $102.5 million to settle claims brought by 41 states and the District of Columbia. Indivior is a pharmaceutical company and maker of the opioid addiction treatment drug, Suboxone, which helps individuals with opioid dependence reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. The lawsuit alleged that Invidior illegally suppressed competition for the drug. States that sued the company asserted that Indivior illegally extended the time before generics for Suboxone could enter the market, delaying the approval of the lower-cost treatment from 2009 until 2013. A coalition of state attorneys’ general sued the company and accused Indivior of having schemed to block generic competitors from the market after the patented-protected period, which thereby artificially elevated the drug ’ s costs to consumers. McKinsey & Co. On September 26, 2023, consulting firm McKinsey & Co agreed to pay $230 million to resolve lawsuits by hundreds of U.S. local governments and school districts alleging it helped facilitate the opioid addition epidemic through its work for Purdue Pharma and other drug companies. One lawsuit alleges that McKinsey encouraged Purdue to increase sales calls to doctors who over-prescribed OxyContin and to further persuade those doctors to continue to write high-dose prescriptions. The settlement is on top of $641.5 million that McKinsey already paid to resolve claims by state attorneys’ general in 2021. III. PFAS Litigation Another recent hotbed of litigation involves PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). These chemicals are commonly known as “forever chemicals” due to the time it takes for them to break down. PFAS are widely used and found in many products. They can be found in water supplies, fish, and soil locations across the globe, and based on some scientific studies, PFAS may be linked to harmful health effects in humans.
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Duane Morris Product Liability And Mass Torts Class Action Review – 2024
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