Federal panel moves Everetts opioid lawsuit out of state
EVERETT — The city of Everett likely will face a longer, slower path as it attempts to prove that the maker of the powerful pain medication OxyContin chased profits while knowingly supplying drug traffickers and others who set up a thriving illicit market for its pills.
Everett sued Purdue Pharma nearly a year ago, accusing the company of laying the foundation for the community’s opioid woes by allowing its product to find its way into “pill mills” and drug rings.
Attorneys representing the city this fall beat back a concerted attempt by the drug maker to have the case dismissed without trial. That should have cleared the way for the discovery phase of the litigation in U.S. District Court in Seattle, including demands for records and depositions with key company figures.
But an early December decision by a federal judicial panel means big changes for the case.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ordered the Everett case joined with more than five dozen of other similar civil actions pending in federal courts around the country, including Kentucky, West Virginia, Alabama, Illinois, California and Ohio. It has assigned them all to Judge Dan A. Polster of the U.S. District Court for northern Ohio, based in Cleveland.
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