LOS ANGELES (AP) — Top drug manufacturers have won a round in a California lawsuit that blamed them for the opioid crisis and sought billions of dollars to cover the costs of dealing with it. A judge in Orange County made a tentative ruling Monday that said local governments hadn’t proven that Johnson & Johnson used deceptive marketing to inflate prescriptions of their painkillers, leading to a public nuisance. Both sides have acknowledged that there is an opioid-abuse epidemic that has claimed many lives. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Clara counties and the city of Oakland, which plan to appeal.
Drug companies win in California opioid crisis lawsuit
