Oklahoma Supreme Court throws out $465 million opioid verdict against Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson
(Image credit: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million judgement against Johnson & Johnson for its role in marketing, selling, and distributing opioids in the state. The 5-1 ruling found that Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman and state prosecutors had incorrectly used public nuisance laws to find Johnson & Johnson culpable in 2019.

"In reaching this decision, we do not minimize the severity of the harm that thousands of Oklahoma citizens have suffered because of opioids," the Oklahoma Supreme Court majority wrote in its ruling. "However grave the problem of opioid addiction is in Oklahoma, public nuisance law does not provide a remedy for this harm." The lone dissenter said the ruling should have been sent back to the lower court.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.