J&J’s Oklahoma Opioid Fight Hinges on ‘Small’ Market Share

The term “drug kingpin” usually brings to mind cartel leaders with gun-toting subordinates. But the state of Oklahoma uses the term to describe Johnson & Johnson in the context of the opioid addiction crisis. The company denies culpability and points out that it has a less than 1% share of the market in that state.

Millions at Stake: The other opioid makers who were sued by Oklahoma reached settlements under which they’ll collectively pay hundreds of millions of dollars. J&J’s market share was not large, but it supplied the active ingredients that others used to manufacture their products, the attorney general told the judge hearing the case.

The Boss: “When we use that term, ‘kingpin,’ it’s not something that’s flippant. They are the boss,” one outside attorney for the state says. A law professor calls the moniker ridiculous. “Arguably, its maximum liability would not exceed its market share—less than 1%,” he says. Valerie Bauman’s story is here.

TOP STORIES

Attorney Who Advocated Anti-Abortion Views Confirmed as Judge
A private attorney who’s publicly expressed anti-abortion views was confirmed by the Senate to a district judgeship in Nebraska, the latest appointee Republicans have pushed through as they and President Donald Trump reshape the judiciary with conservatives.

Louisiana High Court Elections Rigged Against Blacks, NAACP Says
Louisiana’s method for electing justices to its state Supreme Court is rigged against black voters, the NAACP said in a lawsuit.

LeClairRyan Loses Aviation Team of 15 Lawyers to Fox Rothschild
LeClairRyan has added to its growing number of lateral losses as Fox Rothschild announced it had landed the firm’s aviation group made up of 15 attorneys across several U.S. offices.

Ginsburg Laments High Court Confirmation ‘Dysfunction’ in Senate
The U.S. Supreme Court confirmation process is dysfunctional and both political parties are to blame, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: Should FTC Implement Universal Age Restrictions?
The digital industry is trying to protect the information of children on the internet, but is having difficulty complying with the GDRP and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. It’s time for the Federal Trade Commission to consider universal age restrictions, says internet and technology attorney and Law professor Andrew Rossow.

INSIGHT: Attorneys Must Master Media Roles as Government Investigations Grow
With a 24-hour news cycle and media interest in government investigations growing, attorneys need to be adept at more than proficiency in the law. Troutman Sanders attorney Stephen Cobb explains that the client and the integrity of the legal process suffer when attorneys lack requisite skills to shift from playing the role of legal advocate to public spokesperson.

INSIGHT: Long-Term Care Continues to Lead Health-Care M&A Activity
The long-term care sector is the most active sector in health-care mergers and acquisitions so far in 2019 and have increased 43% from the first six months of 2018. Epstein, Becker & Green attorneys and health industry financial/investment analysts highlight this and other common themes in health-care deals so far in 2019.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Legal Profession

Paul Weiss M&A Partner Joins Kirkland in New York
Kirkland & Ellis has added Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison partner David Klein as a partner in its corporate practice group in New York.

Former DOJ Tax Head, Morgan Lewis Partner Joins Boutique Firm
Morgan Lewis & Bockius partner and the former head of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division Nathan Hochman has joined litigation boutique Browne George Ross as a partner in its Century City, Calif., office.

Case Alert

J&J Targets Science Behind Thousands of Baby Powder-Cancer Cases
Johnson & Johnson, seeking to head off claims by thousands of women that its iconic Baby Powder caused their cancer, took aim at some of the science cited in lawsuits alleging the company’s talc-based products were tainted in the past with asbestos.

Meek Mill Gets New Trial, New Judge
Rapper Meek Mill will have a new trial with a new judge for drug and weapons offenses, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled.

Memphis Abortion Protester Wins on Exclusion From Private Street
Memphis, Tenn., police likely acted unconstitutionally in barring an abortion protester from a private road that had “all the trappings of a public street,” a federal appeals court ruled.

Tennessee Assembly Loses Challenge to Refugee Medicaid Program
The Tennessee General Assembly can’t pursue a lawsuit challenging federal laws requiring the state to provide Medicaid coverage to refugees, the Sixth Circuit said.

UCSD Student Paper May Pursue 1st Amendment Suit Over Defunding
A University of California San Diego student newspaper defunded after running an article satirizing the concept of safe spaces can proceed with First Amendment claims, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

Experian Beats Suit Over Failing to Investigate Credit File
Experian Information Solutions Inc. didn’t violate federal law when it declined to investigate a credit repair company’s notification that a client’s credit report contained inaccuracies, a federal appeals court affirmed.

Trump Rules Denying Most Border Crossers Asylum Can Proceed
A federal judge in Washington let stand for now Trump administration rules that would make most migrants seeking to cross the southern border ineligible for sanctuary in the U.S.

Farmers Can’t Sue Feds for Breaching South Dakota Leases
Lessees of farm land on a South Dakota Indian Reservation can’t sue the U.S. government for breach of contract when their leases were canceled, a federal appeals court ruled.

Senior Community Operator Can’t Arbitrate Fraud Class Suit
Aegis Senior Communities LLC waited too long to compel arbitration of a fraud class action brought by residents, the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

Judge in Epstein Friend Lawsuit Postpones Thursday Hearing
The judge overseeing a case by a woman who claims she was victimized by Jeffrey Epstein and then defamed by his friend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, postponed a court conference that had been scheduled for today.

Straw Man Gun Purchase Conviction Reversed for Inadequate Proof
A gun purchaser who bought two weapons for someone else beat his conviction for knowingly making a false statement about the straw purchase.

Student Loan Provider Wins Reversal of Call Recording Class
Educational Credit Management Corp. convinced the Ninth Circuit to reverse class certification of a consumer suit alleging it recorded phone calls to borrowers without consent.

Arkansas Abortion Restrictions Temporarily Put on Hold
Arkansas’s three new abortion restrictions have been blocked for 14 days by a temporary restraining order.

Infringing Company’s President Gets $2 Million Penalty Nixed
A scientific products company’s president escaped a more than $2 million penalty after the Fourth Circuit held he wasn’t personally liable for his company’s trademark infringement.

Also in the News

Texas GOP Avoids Federal Oversight in Voter Map Challenge
Texas won’t have to get federal approval before making changes to its voter maps after a panel of U.S. judges ruled that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision raised the bar for declaring when a state’s discrimination against minority voters warranted ongoing court supervision.

Mueller Resists Democratic Push to Reveal More From Trump Probe
Robert Mueller made his reluctant, long-awaited appearance before Congress, resisting pressure from Democrats who hoped he’d reveal additional information about his investigation of President Trump.

Madoff Asks Trump to Reduce His 150-Year Prison Sentence
Bernard Madoff asked President Trump to shorten his 150-year prison sentence, effectively asking to be released.

Trump Must Face Suit Over Alleged Multilevel Marketing Fraud
President Trump, his company and three of his children must face a class-action lawsuit in which people claim they were scammed into spending money on fraudulent, multilevel marketing ventures and a dubious live-seminar program.

WORKFLOWS

Deloitte’s U.K. branch has added two new partners; Liz Pierson will become the legal lead for Deloitte’s “Reward” practice, and Andrew Lilley, the former managing partner of British firm Travers Smith, will head up Deloitte’s U.K.-based employment law practice | McDermott Will & Emery has added Morrison & Foerster partner Ze’-ev Eiger and Kirkland & Ellis associate Patrick Rowe to the transactions practice group in New York | Dickinson Wright said Geoffrey G. Farr has joined the Toronto office as a partner | Duane Morris hired Tracy A. Gallegos as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group from Fox Rothschild; she will be resident in the Las Vegas office and also practice in San Francisco | Thompson Coburn announced that Jennifer Post will serve as the managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office | Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin has expanded its Philadelphia Casualty Department with the additions of Tara Gill Nalencz, shareholder, and Kimberly House, associate; both previously practiced at Rawle & Henderson | Dinsmore & Shohl added Tucker C. Motta as an associate to its employment group in Atlanta | Ballard Spahr has appointed Dominic J. De Simone and Emilie R. Ninan to co-chair the firm’s Finance Department | Lewis Brisbois hired Marissa D. Kelley as a partner in the Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practice in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.