Johnson & Johnson Opioid Decision
Years ago, I brought a public nuisance action against the lead paint industry to abate the poisoning of thousands of children, which the state won at trial before a Rhode Island jury.
The corporate right wing panicked (Wall Street Journal bombarded us with at least ten editorials criticizing the case), and the RI Supreme Court took away our victory.
Recently, the California Supreme Court upheld a public nuisance judgment against the lead paint industry. An Oklahoma court just found Johnson & Johnson similarly responsible for the opioid epidemic. Sad that we missed our chance in RI, but glad that other states made the right call.
This will likely help Rhode Island’s public nuisance lawsuit over carbon emissions. Unlike lead paint, it’s a byproduct not a sold product, which made a difference in the unfortunate RI lead paint decision.
California lead paint decision (sold product) and Oklahoma opioids decision (sold product) show how unfortunate RI decision was. Seems industry PR bombardment had an effect.
