Hueston Hennigan’s “landmark” opioid trial win for Endo Pharmaceuticals in a $50 billion action earned it a spot on the Daily Journal’s Top Verdicts 2022.
Three of the most populous counties in California and the City of Oakland brought suit against opioid manufacturers alleging false advertising, unfair competition and public nuisance. The jurisdictions claimed that manufacturers’ alleged false and misleading marketing caused a $50 billion public nuisance.
After a four-month bench trial, Judge Peter J. Wilson found no actionable public nuisance or false or misleading claims by the defendants.
“We convinced the judge that to find nuisance you have to find an underlying bad act, and that proved the plaintiff’s downfall. It’s not enough to show there’s an opioid crisis,” said John Hueston to the Daily Journal.
The win was hailed as “giv[ing] drug companies their first major victory in the litigation brought by cities and counties across the country over the opioid crisis,” American Lawyer.