Articles by Nate Raymond

Utility to Pay $56 Million to Resolve Deadly Massachusetts Gas Blasts Probe

NiSource Inc. will pay $56 million to resolve a probe into Massachusetts gas explosions in 2018 linked to a utility it owns that killed one person and destroyed multiple buildings, the state’s attorney general said last Thursday. Massachusetts Attorney General …

Texas Creamery Blue Bell to Plead Guilty, Pay $19M over Listeria Outbreak

Texas-based ice cream manufacturer Blue Bell Creameries has agreed to pay $19.35 million and plead guilty to charges that it shipped contaminated products linked to a 2015 listeriosis outbreak, the U.S. Justice Department said on April 1. Prosecutors also filed …

Opioid Firms Warn Lawyers’ Bid for 7% Fee Jeopardizes Settlement

Johnson & Johnson and other drug companies facing thousands of lawsuits over their role in the opioid epidemic have warned that settlement talks will be “severely” jeopardized if plaintiffs’ lawyers are allowed to assess a fee payment worth billions of …

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Arizona Opioid Claim Against Purdue’s Owners

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a novel case by Arizona seeking to recover billions of dollars that the state has said that members of the Sackler family – owners of Purdue Pharma LP – funneled out of …

Massachusetts Adopts Tough Ban on Flavored Vaping, Tobacco Products

Massachusetts on Wednesday adopted the country’s toughest ban on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes, in response to a rise in youth vaping and an outbreak of vaping-related serious lung injuries. Governor Charlie Baker, a …

Judge Trims Oklahoma Opioid Penalty on J&J to $465M to Reflect Math Error

An Oklahoma judge on Friday said Johnson & Johnson must pay that state $465 million for fueling the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers, down from his original award of $572 million. The decision by Cleveland County District …

Massachusetts Sues Exxon for Misleading Investors, Consumers About Climate Change

The state of Massachusetts sued Exxon Mobil Corp on Thursday, accusing the oil giant of misleading investors and consumers for decades about the role fossil fuels play in climate change. Attorney General Maura Healey filed the lawsuit shortly after Exxon …

Several States Have Doubts About $48 Billion Opioid Settlement Offer

Several U.S. states that have been ravaged by the opioid epidemic are pushing back on a proposed $48 billion settlement framework that would resolve thousands of lawsuits against five drug companies accused of fueling the addiction crisis. The proposal would …

Update on Opioid Lawsuits Against Drugmakers, Distributors

On Monday, two Ohio counties reached a last-minute settlement with four companies they accused of fueling the nationwide opioid epidemic. The counties were seeking billions of dollars to cover the cost of addiction treatment programs, healthcare and other services. Opioids …

Judge Calls on Big 3 Drug CEOs to Discuss Opioid Settlement

The chief executives of the three largest U.S. drug distributors and a drugmaker have been summoned to appear before a federal judge to discuss a proposal to resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging they fueled the U.S. opioid crisis, a person …