HOUSTON – Dallas County, the second most populated county in Texas, has been selected for the state’s first opioid bellwether trial.
Dozens of Texas counties and cities, including the state itself, have filed opioid lawsuits asserting manufactures and distributors had knowledge of the dangers of opioids but concealed the information for profit.
The suits are currently in a multidistrict litigation court in Harris County and assigned to Judge Robert Schaffer of the 152nd District Court.
A status conference hearing was held on July 26, during which both sides presented Judge Schaffer with a shortlist of candidates for possible bellwether trials.
The judge decided the plaintiffs would select the first bellwether and the defendants would choose the second.
If the Dallas County case settles or can’t go for whatever reason, Bexar County will fill the spot.
For the defendants, Angelina County was selected for the second bellwether with Burleson County tapped as its backup.
Angelina County has a population of roughly 86,000 while Burleson County is home to less than 18,000 people – a drop in the bucket when compared to Dallas County, which has a population of nearly 2.4 million people.
As far as Bexar County goes, roughly 1.7 million people live within its borders.
The first bellwether trial is tentatively set for October 2020.
The Dallas County case is being handled by two prominent trial lawyers – Mark Lanier of Houston and Jeffrey Simon, a partner at Simon Greenstone in Dallas.
Several other plaintiffs seek to be considered for early bellwethers, including the city of Houston, which only recently filed its opioid suit, and Nueces County.
At the start of the status conference, Judge Schaffer told those in attendance that he received an “improper communication” from Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales asking that the county be considered for an early trial.
He told the dozens of attorneys in attendance that he did not want to see similar communications again.
Toward the end of the status conference, the judge said it was time the parties “crank it up” on discovery.
A docket control order is expected to be entered before the next status conference, slated for late August, and will only pertain to the counties selected for bellwethers.
Cause No. 2018-63587