A federal judge overseeing more than 1,500 opioid lawsuits has refused to allow the defendant companies to bring a motion for sanctions against plaintiffs lawyers who they claim made “misleading, inflammatory, and improper” statements on a “60 Minutes” episode last month.
The Dec. 16 episode, “Opioid Crisis: The lawsuits that could bankrupt manufacturers and distributors,” prominently featured former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, former Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Burton LeBlanc of Baron & Budd in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In the show, Moore remarked that the lawsuits could cost opioid companies $100 billion in damages.
