PBMs Claim Opioid Plaintiffs Destroyed Evidence, Seek Sanctions

Pharmacy Benefit Manager defendants say local government plaintiffs have destroyed crucial emails ahead of bellwether trials in litigation over the PBM’s role in aiding the opioid crisis.

The PBMs said three out of four of the bellwether plaintiffs have failed to implement litigation holds for crucial evidence including messages from local government employees, according to a papers submitted Monday to the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The PBM suits are a piece of the sprawling consolidated litigation against opioid makers, distributors, and other entities that allegedly fueled misuse of the prescription painkillers. Benefit managers in the ...