Opioid Coverage Task Force member Patrick Bedell shared insights with Bloomberg Law on a ruling by a Connecticut court dismissing opioid claims filed by municipalities because the alleged causal link between the manufacture and sale of prescription opioids and the costs for public services borne by municipal plaintiffs is too attenuated.  

In the March 8, 2019 article “Purdue Attacks Charges That Opioid Marketing Caused Overdoses,” Bedell was quoted on the potential impact of the Connecticut court’s ruling.  Here is an excerpt: 

“Courts must grapple with the problems of proof and causation outlined by Judge Moukawsher in New Haven. A plaintiff does not state a claim simply because it seeks to alleviate a societal problem,” Patrick Bedell, partner with Chicago-based BatesCarey LLP told Bloomberg Law in a March 6 email. 

“There must be a direct causal link between the defendant’s sale of prescription opioids and the costs for social services that plaintiffs are trying to recover,” Bedell said. Bedell’s firm represents insurers that provide policies for drugmakers involved in the nationwide marketing litigation. 

Bedell recently co-wrote an article saying Polster will have to decide either to allow aggregated statistical proof to establish liability as the multi-district litigation moves toward its first bellwether trials, or demand more specific evidence of causation as required by Moukawsher. 

Read the full piece here (subscription required).