1st civil opioid trial in state begins

SANTA ANA -- In a $50 billion bench trial likely to influence thousands of settlements, four municipalities accused four drug makers during opening statements Monday of helping to create a statewide epidemic by misleadingly marketing opioids as safe and effective pain treatments while downplaying the risk of addiction.

With 300 people listening in via Zoom, the Santa Clara County Counsel's Office, Orange County District Attorney's Office, the Los Angeles County Counsel's Office, and the Oakland City Attorney's Office, collectively as The People, made their opening argument accusing four pharmaceutical companies of illegally marketing pain pills.

Rhode Island attorney Fidelma L. Fitzpatrick of Motely Rice LLC, representing The People, said almost 300 billion morphine milligram equivalents or doses made their way into California in the form of opioid prescriptions in the last 20 years.

"There's just no doubt that prescription opioids flooded these four jurisdictions. They flooded the state of California just like they flooded the nation," Fitzpatrick said, appearing via Zoom. "These prescription opioids fueled what the federal government has called the public health crisis of our time, devastating families and communities across the United States."

The four defendant companies making opening statements Monday were Teva Pharmaceuticals, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., Allergan PLC, and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. The pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, also a named defendant, sat out the civil trial pending a bankruptcy proceeding.

Speaking for Teva, Collie F. James IV of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, said Fitzpatrick made hyperbolic claims against his client and tried to blur the lines between illegal and prescription drugs, and that Teva made up only a minuscule amount of drugs prescribed in the plaintiffs' jurisdictions.

"Are manufacturers responsible for the flow of illegal drugs into the country that are at the heart of the addiction and overdose issues facing the state?" James said. "Do the people want prescription opioids banned in California ... even though everyone agrees that they provide critical care to thousands every day?"

Of the similar actions ongoing in a multi-district litigation in Ohio, a federal lawsuit in Northern California and the state lawsuits in Los Angeles and Orange counties, the Orange County action is the most developed. As the first case in the state to go to trial, the Orange County matter in front of Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson could create a road map for global settlements, not only in the lawsuits in California but throughout the nation.

Over the past 20 years, opioids were involved in 46,802 overdose deaths in California -- nearly 70% of all overdose deaths -- according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While many opioid companies throughout the nation have reached settlements or are seeking global deals that could wipe out all their potential liability, others have moved forward to trials.

Santa Clara County Counsel James R. Williams said his office was proud to have filed the first government-initiated lawsuit in the nation against opioid manufacturers in 2014, alleging their role in creating the crisis of opioid "addiction, abuse, and overdose death that plagues our communities."

"Defendants deceived the public about the real dangers of opioids, putting profit before the public's health," Williams said in a statement Monday. "After seven years of hard-fought litigation, we look forward to proving our case at trial, holding these manufacturers accountable, and securing much needed funds to address the ongoing opioid crisis in our communities."

The drugmakers are accused of helping to create the state's opioid epidemic by violating the public nuisance, unfair competition, and false advertising laws by making statements to promote the use of opioids to treat chronic pain that omitted or concealed material facts, and by failing to correct prior misrepresentations and omissions, about the risks and benefits of opioids.

In addition to civil penalties, The People seek approximately $50 billion in funds to abate the opioid crisis in Santa Clara, Los Angeles, and Orange counties, and the City of Oakland, according to attorneys involved in the suit. People v. Purdue Pharma et al., 14-00725287 (Orange Super. Ct., led May 21, 2014).

Trial will continue Tuesday.