Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani San Francisco partner James Holder authored an article in the Spring 2018 edition of the Defense Research Institute’s (DRI) In-House Defense Quarterly entitled "Opening the Door Wider? Opioid Litigation and the Scope of Public Nuisance Law."
In Holder’s article, he examines the rapid rise of civil litigation being filed by various government entities against the manufacturers of prescription opioid drugs for reimbursement of the governmental costs of the opioid epidemic. Holder’s article focuses on the government-plaintiffs’ attempts to use the traditionally disfavored common law public nuisance doctrine to support the lawsuits against the drug manufacturers. The article includes a discussion of the history of previous large scale public nuisance litigation, including the tobacco Litigation of the 1990s and the handgun litigation of the early 2000s, and provides an analysis of the role of public nuisance law in the current litigation as well as the defenses that the defendants are relying upon in response to the claims.
To read the article in full, please click here.
About the Author:
James Holder represents corporations and individuals in a broad range of complex business litigation, including product liability, mass torts, commercial litigation, and breach of contract disputes. Holder has a particular emphasis in complex commercial litigation representing multi-national corporations involved in the sales, marketing, and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Holder's practice also focuses on the defense of law firms and legal professionals against malpractice, breach fiduciary duty, and negligence allegations. He has also handled environmental and toxic tort litigation and has achieved successful results for a wide range of clients in both State and Federal jurisdictions throughout the United States.