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A federal judge in Cleveland denied a request by several drug companies to remove himself from the massive opioid litigation ahead of a trial next month, saying nothing he has done in the past two years has shown any favor toward cities and counties seeking money for the nation’s devastating drug epidemic. (Heisig, 9/26)

Judge Dan Polster said in his order that he has done nothing over the past two years to favor cities and counties seeking money from the pharmaceutical industry to cover their costs of fighting the deadly crisis. Polster said he has merely acknowledged the massive toll of the opioid crisis and the responsibility, as opposed to the legal liability, of many parties in the epidemic. (Carr Smyth, 9/26)

The Cleveland judge overseeing more than 2,000 federal lawsuits over alleged opioid abuses refused to disqualify himself from a bellwether trial set to start next month, rejecting a request by drug distributors and pharmacies who say he is biased against the companies. ...The first federal trial of the opioid litigation is set to begin Oct. 21 in Cleveland, and the outcome could serve as a benchmark for claims that about two dozen companies are liable for a national epidemic of addiction and overdoses. States and local governments are seeking billions of dollars in damages to help fund treatment programs and police. (Griffin, 9/26)

Consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson is appealing an Oklahoma judge’s $572 million order against the company and its subsidiaries for helping fuel the state’s opioid crisis. The company filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday, arguing the ruling was an “unprecedented interpretation of Oklahoma public nuisance law.” (Murphy, 9/26)

A group of hospitals in Tennessee and Virginia have filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers, distributors and retailers of opioid-based drugs. Twenty-six hospitals in eastern Tennessee and seven hospitals in southwestern Virginia are involved in the civil suit. The complaint was filed in July, but it wasn’t publicized until Thursday. (9/27)

Though Louisiana ranks No. 5 among states in the rate of opioid prescriptions, a crisis that has caused thousands of deaths in the state has received little attention during the governor’s race this year. But one of the three candidates has a record on opioids that extends beyond position papers and policy proposals: U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham was a medical doctor as well as a pharmacy owner in northeast Louisiana, so he has a record as an elected official and a prescriber as well as a buyer and a seller. (Karlin and Bridges, 9/26)