Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2023-June-19

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant Bayer has agreed to pay $6.9 million to resolve accusations brought by the attorney general of New York that its Monsanto division made false and misleading statements regarding the safety of the weedkiller Roundup.

The amount is in addition to the many billions of dollars Bayer has already spent to resolve claims that Roundup, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the world, causes cancer. The New York Attorney General's complaint centered on statements made in advertisements by Monsanto, which Bayer purchased in 2018, that Roundup "won't harm anything but weeds" and does not endanger the welfare of wildlife or other animals.

According to the attorney general, such assertions violated a prior agreement New York state and Monsanto signed two decades ago, in which Monsanto promised to refrain from making unfounded claims about the safety of Roundup products containing glyphosate.

The AG stated in a statement that pesticides may seriously affect the environment and represent a lethal threat to animals, particularly pollinators and other species essential to agriculture. To ensure that pesticides are used appropriately, it is crucial for pesticide manufacturers, even the most potent ones, to be open and honest with their customers about the risks associated with their products.

Insisting that Roundup is safe to use, Bayer said it was "pleased" to settle the legal dispute. The business pointed out that the state's legal claim concentrated on advertising tactics rather than human health hazards and that it reached no conclusions about the safety of Roundup products or about whether they had harmed the ecosystem, particularly pollinators or aquatic species.

The business claimed that in making the assertion, the attorney general had used out-of-date scientific data. For many years, glyphosate has been the focus of investigation and scholarly discussion. In 2015, it was designated as a "probable human carcinogen" by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, which has its headquarters in France.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined in 2020 that the pesticide did not present a danger to human health, but a federal appeals court in California ordered the agency to reconsider that conclusion last year, claiming it was not adequately supported by the available data.

The millions of cash that Bayer and Monsanto will give to the office of the New York attorney general will be used to mitigate the harm that environmental toxins or pollutants inflict on aquatic creatures and pollinating insects.

The firms must also immediately take down or stop running any marketing that portrays glyphosate-containing products like Roundup as being safe for animals or nontoxic.

Following the settlement of a lawsuit against opioid-producing and -selling businesses, the state of Washington will receive $371.8 million to combat opioid addiction, according to the state Attorney General's Office.

The 125 local governments in the state will each receive half of that sum, and they must utilize the money on opioid cleanup. The state will receive the remainder. King County and its communities will get more than $100 million. About $26 million will be spent only in Seattle. Pierce County will receive $48.2 million, and Snohomish County will receive $47.3 million.

Four separate settlements with CVS, Walgreens, Teva, and Allergan provided the funding. In the two biggest, Walgreens will pay $120 million to Washington over a 15-year period, while CVS will contribute $110 million over a 10-year period.

In accordance with the agreements, CVS and Walgreens would "tightly monitor" the opioid prescriptions they write and stop patients from requesting numerous opioid prescriptions. Teva cannot advertise opioids, and Allergan will stop selling opioids for ten years. The resolution was approved by all of the relevant municipal governments.

The Attorney General stated in a news release that these resources are being distributed to all areas of the state to confront the fentanyl issue and enhance treatment alternatives. Our neighborhoods will be safer, and lives will be saved.

A $518 million settlement with three of the biggest opioid distributors in the country—Mckesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.—was announced by the attorney general last year.

The money can be applied to housing, education, naloxone distribution, school-based programs, and first responder support in order to meet opioid rehabilitation standards.

Aearo Technologies, a 3M subsidiary, was declared bankrupt by a U.S. judge, who also rejected an attempt to settle over 260,000 cases that claimed 3M military earplugs caused hearing loss in veterans and U.S. service personnel.

According to the United States Bankruptcy Judge in Indianapolis, Aearo enjoys more financial certainty than is necessary for bankruptcy protection because it is a well-supported 3M subsidiary.

According to court figures from March, the claims, which have been consolidated in federal court in Pensacola, Florida, are the greatest mass tort in U.S. history, with about 330,000 cases filed and roughly 260,000 pending cases.

The earplug lawsuit, according to 3M and Aearo, had gotten out of hand and could only be settled through bankruptcy.

However, the judge determined that there was no imminent risk of insolvency as a result of the cases against 3M and Aearo, and that there was no proof that a settlement could not be made outside of bankruptcy.

Even the jury acknowledged how significant the earplug lawsuit was, accounting for 30% of all cases still outstanding in federal district courts. However, considering that 3M had paid the expenses of the legal action against Aearo and that there was no proof that either firm had been significantly hurt by the legal proceedings, the bankruptcy of Aearo was a "fatally premature" response.

Aearo was considering submitting an appeal to reopen its bankruptcy, according to a statement from 3M. The safety of the earplugs will be defended by 3M and Aearo in other courts, and 3M is also exploring appeals that might reverse the "flawed outcome" in some of the trials that have already been conducted, the company said. According to 3M, the appeals may "fundamentally change the trajectory" of the earplug litigation. The primary attorneys for the Florida lawsuit's earplug plaintiffs said that the bankruptcy constituted a "gross abuse of the bankruptcy courts."

Despite a previous decision that claims against the parent firm, 3M, which is not in bankruptcy, may be pursued, the Florida case had largely been put on hold. Aearo has filed an appeal against that verdict and is awaiting word from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In all, $265 million has been granted to 13 plaintiffs in the 16 earplug cases that have gone to trial thus far, with 10 of those cases being lost by 3M. Johnson & Johnson, which has sought to settle litigation through the bankruptcy of a recently formed subsidiary, LTL Management, has adopted a method that is similar to 3M's bankruptcy plan. According to the complaints, asbestos was included in J&J baby powder and other talc goods, which led to cancer. The claims are refuted by J&J.

Following opioid painkiller deals with Teva, Allergen, CVS, and Walgreens, Virginia is expected to earn around $365.6 million in compensation.

On June 9, the Attorney General declared that $17.3 billion in opioid deals had been approved in their entirety. The milestone agreement with two significant medicine manufacturers and two significant pharmacies has taken a long time to come about, he continued. The payment will benefit the local communities and people who lost their lives in Virginia.

By the end of 2023, the $365.6 million will begin to be given to state and municipal governments.

The deal includes further injunctive remedies, or guidelines that each corporation must adhere to, the AG's office claims. Future opioid marketing by Teva will be prohibited, and the company must take steps to curtail drug abuse. For ten years, Allergan must stop marketing opioids. Both CVS and Walgreens are obligated to keep an eye on, report, and share information about any questionable conduct involving prescriptions for opioids.

The final settlement with Walmart has not yet been disclosed since it will go through a different procedure. A revision is anticipated in the upcoming weeks.

To date, Virginia has contributed close to $1 billion to federal inquiries into and lawsuits brought against the pharmaceutical sector because of the opioid crisis. There are still unresolved settlements.

Earlier this month, Walgreens agreed to pay $230 million to resolve a dispute about the drugstore chain's distribution of opioids in San Francisco. The city will get $229 million from the drugstore over the period of 14 years. Even CVS has reached a similar settlement worth $606 million where the store owners agreed to pay the amount to Nevada.

Additionally, CVS agreed to develop an oversight program with a database of prescriptions, patients, and prescriber "red flags" in order to help prevent the misuse of opioids. A CVS official emphasized the company's delight with the deal with Nevada in a statement. The fact that doctors, not chemists, make prescriptions for opioids was emphasized in the statement. The supervision plan was not covered in full.