KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A lawsuit brought by six Tennessee district attorney generals against multiple large opioid manufacturers can move forward, a Tennessee Court of Appeals judge ruled Thursday.
Judge D. Michael Swiney decided in his ruling that drug manufacturers can be held liable under Tennessee’s Drug Dealer Liability Act (DDLA), a news release from the attorneys general bringing suit said.
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In doing so, he reversed a judgment by Eighth Judicial District Judge John D. McAfee that dismissed the lawsuit, which has become known as the I-75 Corridor opioid lawsuit, according to the release. The case will now be remanded to trial court.
The lawsuit had originally been filed by the district attorneys general of Tennessee’s Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts in Campbell County's Circuit Court in Jacksboro in September 2017. The Fourth Judicial District later joined, as well, the release said.
The lawsuit, which was filed against prescription opioid makers Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt LLC, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Endo Health Solutions and its subsidiary Endo Pharmaceuticals, alleged the opioid makers "knowingly participated in the diversion of opioids," Swiney's ruling explained.
“This is a substantial victory for the cities and counties represented in this case, and sound affirmation of our complaint,” Jared Effler, the district attorney general for Tennessee’s Eighth Judicial District, said in the release. “The court clearly recognizes the rights of district attorneys to bring suit on behalf of their constituents, and also agrees that pharmaceutical companies and distributors can be challenged under the DDLA — particularly when these companies knowingly inflict harm on the public, as we believe the defendants have done over a span of many years."