Lawyer Monthly - November 2021 Edition

MONTHLY ROUND-UP On 26 October, Johnson & Johnson said it had agreed to pay $297 million to resolve claims that it contributed to the opioid epidemic in Texas. The payment guarantees the state a quicker payout than if it waited for a proposed $26 billion deal that aims to settle opioid litigation across the entirety of the USA. A judge in Iowa has granted the world’s largest farm equipment maker, Deere & Co, a temporary injunction against striking union members who have been trespassing on the company’s grounds and blocking off its entrances and exits. JOHNSON & JOHNSON REACHES $297 MILLION TEXAS OPIOID SETTLEMENT DEERE&CO GRANTEDTEMPORARY INJUNC- TIONAGAINST STRIKINGUNIONMEMBERS Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the terms of the agreement “largely track” the proposed nationwide settlement, in which Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay a maximum of $5 billion to resolve claims by states and local governments. The full payout by the healthcare company is subject to at least 96% of local Texas governments that are pursuing lawsuits that are pursuing lawsuits agreeing to participate in the deal within 45 days. have been criticised for ignoring red flags that the painkillers were being diverted for illicit uses. However, with the national settlement not In mid-October, over 10,000 Deere & Co workers went on strike in what marks the first major walkout at the company in more than three decades. The Several workers began forming a picket line outside the company’s Milan plant in Western Illinois 15 minutes after the strike deadline. Workers also began picketing Johnson & Johnson, represented by O’Melveny and Myers, did not admit any wrongdoing in the deal. In a statement, the company said it would “continue to defend against any litigation that the final agreement does not resolve.” Over 3,300 lawsuits have been filed across the US accusing drugmakers of downplaying the risks of addiction that their painkillers pose. Similarly, distributors and pharmacies yet finalised, it is possible that these companies could end up paying less should the settlement not garner enough support. LM overwhelming majority of the union rejected a contract offer that would have delivered raises of 5% to some workers and 6% to others. at several other Deere & Co plants, including the company’s largest operation in Waterloo, Iowa. Marlita Grave, Chief District Judge of Iowa’s Seventh Judicial District, called the union workers’ activities “unwarranted, impermissible and unlawful.” The injunction does not entirely forbid the strike, but the judge has limited the number of picketers to no more than four at each of the facility’s gates. In a statement, Deere & Co says that the injunction was put in place to ensure safe entry and exit to the facility. LM 6 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | NOV 2021