Articles by Anders Melin and Jef Feeley

McKesson Board Minutes Indicate Little Oversight by Directors of Opioid Operations, Lawsuit Says

McKesson Corp.’s board failed to audit the company’s system to spot suspicious shipments of opioid-based painkillers even after agreeing to do so as part of a settlement, according to a summary of board minutes unsealed Friday in a shareholder lawsuit. …

Jury Says J&J, Bayer Must Pay $28 Million for Woman’s Injuries from Xarelto Drug

Johnson & Johnson and Bayer AG are responsible for a woman’s injuries tied to the blood-thinning drug Xarelto and must pay almost $28 million in damages, jurors concluded in the companies’ first loss at a trial over the medicine. Lynn …

Drugmaker Purdue Moves to Settle States’ Claims Over Opioids

Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma LP is proposing a global settlement in an attempt to end state investigations and lawsuits over the U.S. opioid epidemic, according to people familiar with the talks. Purdue’s lawyers raised the prospect with several southern-state attorneys …

Court Orders J&J to Pay $247 Million, Another Big Loss Over Hip Implant Product

Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $247 million to half a dozen patients who claimed the company hid defects in its Pinnacle artificial hips, its third big-dollar loss over the products. Officials of the company’s DePuy unit, which makes …

Colgate-Palmolive Settles Asbestos Claim Linked to Its Talc

Colgate-Palmolive Co. agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming its talcum powder products caused a Pennsylvania woman to develop mesothelioma, a fatal lung disease tied to asbestos exposure. New York-based Colgate-Palmolive moved to resolve Carol Schoeniger’s lawsuit to avoid a trial …

Lawsuit Claims J&J Knew of Asbestos in Talcum Powder in ’70s

Johnson & Johnson trained its employees to reassure anyone concerned about whether the company’s talcum powder contained asbestos that the cancer-causing substance “has never been found and it never will” in its iconic baby powder, according to an undated memo …

Uber CEO Claims Venture Capital Lawsuit Against Him Should Go to Arbitration

Ex-Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick said the lawsuit brought by venture-capital firm Benchmark seeking his ouster from the company’s board should be heard in private arbitration. In a letter Monday to a Delaware judge, an attorney for …

More States, Star Lawyers Eye Lawsuits Against Big Pharma Over Opioids

Big Pharma is having a Big Tobacco moment as litigation over opioids attract star lawyers and a growing list of states and local governments seeking their own multibillion-dollar payout to deal with costs of a burgeoning drug epidemic. On Tuesday, …

States Study Tobacco Lawsuit Tactics for Fight Over Opioid Costs

State and local leaders fighting a worsening opioid abuse epidemic are studying tactics used in the tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s, as they try to claw back billions from the companies who make and sell the powerful painkillers. More than …

Kimberly-Clark Sues to Force Spinoff to Pay $350 Million Surgical Garb Damages

Kimberly-Clark Corp. sued its spinoff Halyard Health Inc. claiming it wrongfully refused to pick up the entire tab for a $454 million verdict against the companies over the safety of some of their surgical gowns. The complaint filed last Tuesday …