Connecticut Judge Dismisses Claims Against Opioid Manufacturers

A Connecticut Superior Court judge dismissed dozens of lawsuits by cities and towns in the state against Purdue and other drugmakers for their alleged role in the opioid crisis.

Judge Thomas Moukawsher dismissed claims from 37 cities and towns, including New Haven, Bridgeport and Waterbury. The lawsuits differed from a case brought by the state in that they sought to recover costs incurred amid the addiction crisis, whereas the state sued Purdue on consumer-protection grounds. In his ruling, Moukawsher said the cities lacked standing because they had not sufficiently proved direct financial harm from the 25 drugmakers being sued.

“Specific statutes grant the state and federal government authority to bring these kinds of suits without meeting the ordinary burdens of individual civil plaintiffs. But the cities who have brought the lawsuits this court is considering, by contrast, have been granted no such authority,” Moukawsher said in the Jan. 8 decision.