Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Hold Opioid Makers Liable as Drug Dealers

A group of seven district attorneys general in Tennessee cannot sue opioid makers Purdue, Teva and Mallinckrodt under a state law that allows civil suits against drug dealers, a circuit court judge ruled.

Judge John D. McAfee of the Eighth Circuit Court in an Oct. 5 decision found the drugmakers were not liable as long as the drugs they manufactured and distributed were FDA-approved and sold through DEA-registered distributors.

The lawsuit sought to hold the drugmakers liable under the state’s Drug Dealer Liability Act (DDLA), which allows parents, employers, insurers and government entities to sue “persons in the community who have joined the illegal drug market.”