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Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 Source: Roanoke Times (VA) Copyright: 2003 Roanoke Times Contact: http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368 Author: LAURENCE HAMMACK LAWYERS DROP FEDERAL EFFORT TO MERGE OXYCONTIN CASES The Lawsuits Accuse Purdue Pharma Of Overpromoting The Prescription Painkiller While Playing Down Its Addictive Side. Lawyers have dropped an effort to consolidate dozens of federal lawsuits, including three in Southwest Virginia, against the maker of the painkiller OxyContin. Earlier this year, three lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Abingdon were put on hold because of the possibility that pretrial proceedings would be heard by a single judge appointed to handle all such cases nationwide. The lawsuits accuse Purdue Pharma, a Connecticut company that makes OxyContin, of overpromoting the prescription painkiller while playing down its addictive side. Litigation was stayed earlier this year when the plaintiffs in a South Carolina OxyContin case filed a motion to have the lawsuits heard through multidistrict litigation, which is used to consolidate the handling of discovery and other pretrial proceedings in similar claims nationwide. But the plaintiffs recently withdrew their request, allowing the cases to be handled individually in their respective courts, according to Tim Bannon, a spokesman for Purdue Pharma. The company had objected to multidistrict litigation because it thought each case was different, Bannon said. Dropping the process "enables the cases to be tried on the merits, and we think the merits favor us," Bannon said. Efforts to reach the plaintiffs' attorneys were unsuccessful. William Eskridge, an Abingdon attorney who represents Purdue Pharma in the three lawsuits filed in Virginia, said it's likely that the stay will be lifted and the cases will proceed toward trial. One trial that was to begin in October was postponed earlier this year because of the request for multidistrict litigation. Had the process been used, the cases would have returned to their original courts for trials if they survived the consolidated pretrial proceedings. Hundreds of people have become addicted to OxyContin in far Southwest Virginia, where police say it has become the drug of choice among abusers who crush the pills and snort or inject the powder for a heroin-like high. Purdue Pharma has contested claims raised by more than 200 lawsuits filed against it, saying that those who misuse OxyContin should not be allowed to recover damages - or to infringe on the rights of legitimate patients who need the medication. About 30 lawsuits have been dropped or dismissed, Bannon said, and the company has yet to settle a claim or lose a case in court. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart