J&J’s Oklahoma Opioid Fight May Signal Drug Industry Liability

Makers and distributors of opioid painkillers are about to get a clearer picture of how much it will cost to resolve their legal liability for an epidemic of U.S. addiction and overdose deaths caused by the drugs.

An Oklahoma judge will rule Aug. 26 whether Johnson & Johnson created a public nuisance by duping doctors to overprescribe its opioid-based medications. The state sued for as much as $17.5 billion to recover costs associated with the widening drug crisis.

The decision by Judge Thad Balkman could set a benchmark for the rest of the pharmaceutical industry, which faces thousands of lawsuits ...