Cherokee Nation opioid suit remanded to District Court of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.
(Law360, August 27, 2024) -- An Oklahoma federal judge has adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to send a Cherokee Nation opioid lawsuit against pharmaceuticals distributor Morris & Dickson back to state court, agreeing that the negligence case isn't predicated on a duty arising out of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White on Friday affirmed U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Edward Snow's March 19 report and recommendation saying the tribal nation's motion to remand should be granted. Judge White said he wasn't convinced by Morris & Dickson Co. LLC's assertion that his court has subject matter jurisdiction under the federal question doctrine based on the Cherokee Nation's mention of the CSA in its complaint.
Judge White also agreed with the magistrate judge that Morris & Dickson wrongly argued that all the Nation's state law negligence claims must fail because the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2021 rejected similar public nuisance theories against other drug manufacturers in State ex rel. Hunter v. Johnson & Johnson.
"The Johnson & Johnson case provides no basis to summarily conclude that the Oklahoma Supreme Court intended to foreclose all duties based in tort," Judge White wrote. "There are numerous instances throughout the opinion where the court makes it clear that it is speaking only on the issue of public nuisance." Read more.