Purdue Hit With Illinois Attorney General’s Lawsuit

Purdue Hit With Illinois Attorney General’s Lawsuit

Introduction

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma L.P. and Purdue Pharma Inc. (Purdue) blaming them of following deceptive marketing techniques to explode the prescription rates of opioids.

Raoul's lawsuit asserted that even as communities throughout Illinois and across the country were facing the trauma of the opioid epidemic, Purdue promoted the painkiller using misleading marketing tactics. Raoul stated that between 2008 and 2017, Purdue dispatched sales representatives to Illinois several times and informed doctors and patients that the addiction risks could be controlled, despite knowing that the painkillers were highly dangerous and addictive. The company also funded third-party publications under the illusion of educational materials to increase the sales of opioids and downplay its risks.

Purdue recently settled Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter's opioid lawsuit for $270 million. Just a week after that, on Thursday, Hunter indicated dropping some claims against the drugmakers and told the move was made to relook the lawsuit before the May 28 trial. Hunter's office filed a motion that dismissed claims of fraud and deceit, unjust enrichment and violations of the state’s Medicaid laws against the opioid drugmakers. The motive was to reduce the number of damages the state is seeking. However, Oklahoma will continue to pursue allegations that the opioid makers were responsible for the national epidemic.