Articles by Brendan Pierson

Court Blocks Bulk of Florida’s New Social Media Law as Free Speech Violation

Most of a Florida law that sought to stop social media companies from restricting users’ political speech violates the companies’ free speech rights and cannot be enforced, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday, agreeing with a lower court. However, …

3M Ordered to Pay $77.5 Million to Veteran in Latest Earplug Trial

A jury in Pensacola, Florida federal court on Friday ordered 3M Co. to pay $77.5 million to a U.S. Army veteran who said he suffered hearing damage as a result of using the company’s military-issue earplugs. The verdict for veteran …

Arkansas Sues Drugmakers, Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over Insulin Costs

Arkansas’s attorney general on Wednesday accused drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers of colluding to drive up the price of insulin drugs, the latest in a series of lawsuits to take aim at skyrocketing insulin costs. The lawsuit, filed in Pulaski …

New York Jury Finds Drugmaker Teva Liable for Fueling Opioid Crisis

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. fueled opioid addiction in New York state, a jury found last Thursday, a setback for a company still facing thousands of other opioid-related lawsuits around the United States. The verdict, which followed a nearly six-month New …

Berkshire’s Candymaker Must Face Worker’s Suit Over Husband’s COVID Death: California Court

A California candymaker must face a lawsuit by an employee who says she caught COVID-19 at work and gave it to her husband, resulting in his death, a state appeals court held on Tuesday, upholding what appeared to be the …

Judge Tosses $4.5B Deal Shielding Sacklers From Purdue Opioid Claims

A federal judge has thrown out a $4.5 billion settlement that would have shielded the Sackler family, which owned OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, from future lawsuits over opioids, upending the company’s plan to reorganize in bankruptcy court. U.S. District Judge …

AbbVie Pays $200M to Settle Opioid Marketing Case Right Before Trial Ends

AbbVie Inc. agreed to pay $200 million to settle claims by New York that its Allergan unit helped fuel an epidemic of opioid addiction in the state, shortly before jurors heard closing arguments from remaining defendant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. …

Court Revives 6,000 Lawsuits Against 3M Over Surgical Device

A federal appeals court on Monday revived nearly 6,000 lawsuits alleging that a widely used device produced by 3M Co. to keep surgical patients warm caused them to develop infections. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Minnesota …

Drugmaker Endo Agrees to $35M Opioid Settlement With Tennessee Local Governments

Endo International Plc has agreed to pay $35 million to settle a lawsuit by Tennessee local governments and on behalf of a child allegedly born addicted to painkillers accusing the drugmaker of fueling the opioid epidemic, the company announced last …

In Opioid Trial Closing, West Virginia Blames Drug Distributors. Distributors Blame Doctors.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lawyers for a West Virginia city and county hard hit by the opioid crisis began wrapping up their case in a $2.5 billion trial on Tuesday arguing major drug distributors flooded the region with the addictive pills, …