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Janssen settles for $99M in opioid trial

The state of West Virginia has agreed to a $99 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutical removing the company from the trial that entered its third week in a Charleston courtroom Monday. State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced the settlement shortly after attorneys gathered at the Kanawha County Courthouse Monday before Mercer County Circuit Judge Derek Swope, who is hearing the case as a bench trial. Morrisey later detailed the settlement at a news conference. “West Virginia and her political subdivisions will receive $99 million ...

Wanted Florida man arrested after high-speed chase in Morgantown

A man wanted in Florida was arrested after he led Monongalia County sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase through residential areas of downtown Morgantown early Sunday morning. According to a criminal complaint, Deputy Ross Watkins observed a Toyota sedan with no tail lights traveling ...

Off-labeling of opioids focus of Friday testimony in trial against manufacturers

CHARLESTON — Off-label uses of opioid products dominated testimony Friday in the ongoing trial pitting the state of West Virginia against three opioid manufacturers. The lawsuit alleges Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan Finance LLC violated state law when they used marketing strategies to over-supply West Virginia with their products, which allegedly helped fuel the opioid epidemic. Mercer County Circuit Judge Derek Swope, who is presiding over the bench trial, heard from four state witnesses Friday whose depositions ...

Grant Town protesters have their day in court

Twelve of the 16 protesters arrested last weekend at the Grant Town Power Plant in northern Marion County settled their cases in court hearings Friday, according to a press release from West Virginia Rising, the activist group that organized the gathering. All 16 were arrested this past ...

Expert witness says marketing strategies caused doctors to prescribe more pain pills

CHARLESTON — The state alleges drug manufacturers exaggerated the benefits of long-term opioid use in their marketing strategies significantly contributing to the opioid epidemic in West Virginia. Those allegations came in testimony Thursday in the ongoing trial between the state and manufacturers Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan Finance LLC. Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the Medical Director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, testified the manufacturers had several marketing ...