Judge grants IPRF's request to send opioid lawsuit back to Ill. court
The Illinois Public Risk Fund is pursuing its own legal claims against the makers and distributors of opioid painkillers.
The Illinois Public Risk Fund’s (IPRF) request to send the IPRF’s opioid lawsuit back to Cook County Circuit Court was granted by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly on July 15, 2019, the Cook County Record reports. The organization, which helps Illinois local governments pool their workers’ compensation insurance, is pursuing its own legal claims against the makers and distributors of opioid painkillers.
On May 10, 2019, IPRF first filed suit in Cook County court against nearly 30 companies, organizations and individuals. Prominent defendants in the action include national and international companies, such as painkiller makers Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson, as well as pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corporation and Amerisource Bergen, among others.
The lawsuit also included a group of Illinois-based defendants, counting what the complaint identified as “front groups,” such as the American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine, that stand accused of lending an air of legitimacy to the widespread use of opioid drugs. All defendants named in the lawsuits were accused of playing some role in an alleged campaign to boost the sale of opioid painkiller pills through deceptive tactics, allegedly leading to a nationwide surge in addiction, associated societal ills and treatment costs.
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Avoiding the ‘black hole’
The claims mirror those in nearly all other lawsuits against most of the defendants across the United States. Most of those opioid-related lawsuits have been removed to federal court from the local courts, in which most were filed, by the opioid defendants.
McKesson sought to remove both of the recent lawsuits brought by the workers’ comp claim organizations. That move was opposed by the plaintiffs, who argued the cases have strong enough ties to Cook County and Illinois to remain in the county court and avoid the “black hole” of the federal mass action in Ohio.
In the IPRF case, Judge Kennelly said the slowness of the process in Ohio persuaded him to rule on the plaintiffs’ request to send the case back to Cook County court. Kennelly also said he believed McKesson and other defendants were removing cases to federal court to take advantage of the slowness of the multi-district litigation (MDL) process.
“The Court believes that deferring decision on the motion to remand would risk significant unfairness to the plaintiff,” Judge Kennelly wrote. “The judge presiding over the MDL has elected not to rule on any motions for remand or permit discovery for a substantial period of time. Thus to defer ruling now could have the effect of staying the litigation indefinitely.”