Cherokee Nation Files Motion to Remand Purdue Lawsuit to State Court

The Cherokee Nation requested that its lawsuit against Purdue be moved to the District Court of the State of Oklahoma, filing a motion to remand Monday and criticizing the pharmaceutical giant for arguing that the case should be tried in federal court.

The lawsuit claims Purdue, as the manufacturer of OxyContin, is responsible for an opioid outbreak within the tribe and that the company “systematically minimized or misstated the risks of addiction, abuse, and withdrawal connected to prescription opioid use.”

The tribe argued there is no reason to try the case in a federal court because its claims fall under state or tribal law and were alleged in a state court.