A jury trial over the opioid crisis begins in Rhode Island this week with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius against Motley Rice, two law firms that previously faced off in California.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is alleging that generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. fraudulently misrepresented the risks of its opiate pharmaceuticals, which it promoted for off-label uses, creating a public nuisance. Teva, fending off similar public nuisance claims last year, won a bench trial in California with a Morgan Lewis team led by Pittsburgh partner Wendy Feinstein. Motley Rice’s Fidelma Fitzpatrick, who represented three large California counties and Oakland in that trial, is spearheading the team for Rhode Island.
