AUSTIN – The state of Texas will initiate opioid litigation before May 18, according a letter sent to the Texas MDL panel.
On May 10, the Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an amicus curiae letter in response to opioid defendants filing a joint motion to transfer and request for immediate stay.
It informs the court that the state will soon file a Deceptive Trade Practices Act lawsuit in Travis County against one of the manufacturers that has requested an MDL.
“Defendant manufacturers and distributors seek to consolidate just eight lawsuits, filed by County Plaintiffs,” the letter states. “The State understands that none of the County Plaintiffs have instituted Deceptive Trade Practices claims.
“The State intends to initiate its DTPA lawsuit, in the public interest, in Travis County, Texas prior to May 18, 2018.”
Once filed, Texas will oppose the request for an MDL. The state is asking the court not to issue an MDL order before it files its lawsuit and its briefing on the MDL request.
“If the Panel does establish a MDL that includes the State’s lawsuit, it should do so in Travis County, the forum in which State will file its suit in Travis County and in which one case is already pending,” the letter states.