CHICAGO – March 5, 2024 – A team of Greenberg Traurig, LLP Products Liability & Mass Torts Practice attorneys led by Practice Chair and Chicago office Shareholder Francis A. Citera secured victory for Albertsons in the Alaska Superior Court in State of Alaska v. Walgreen Co., et al., 3AN-22-06675 CI. The court held that Alaska may not pursue its claims based on either public nuisance or the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPA) as being unsupported by Alaska law.
On June 16, 2022, the State of Alaska filed a wide-ranging complaint seeking to impose liability on four retail pharmacy defendants, including Albertsons, for filling prescriptions for FDA-approved opioid medications written by state-licensed physicians. The state claimed that the resulting abuse and misuse of opioids constitutes a public nuisance for which the retail pharmacy defendants were liable. On August 31, 2022, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the action.
On August 22, 2023, Citera argued the motion during a multihour hearing on behalf of Albertsons.
On March 4, Judge Una Gandbhir held that the actions alleged by Alaska do not constitute grounds for a public nuisance claim and are exempt from the UTPA under Alaska law. In granting the defendants’ motion, Judge Gandbhir noted that the threat of misuse of an otherwise legal product is not a violation of a public right even if there has been damage to the public and that the state’s argument was “a bridge too far.” The court granted the defendants’ motion, holding that the state may not pursue its claims based on either public nuisance or the UTPA as being unsupported by Alaska law.
“We are pleased that the court agreed with our position that the state’s claims were inconsistent with Alaska law,” Citera said. “This decision is likely to be a bellwether for other cases being brought against opioid dispensers, distributors, and manufacturers, which have been referred to as among the largest and most complex civil cases in the nation’s history.”
Other members of the Greenberg Traurig attorney team representing Albertsons are Shareholders Gretchen N. Miller, Brett M. Doran, Caitlyn E. Haller, Linda M. Ricci, Natalie F. Wayne, and Michele L. Stocker, and Associates Gregory Franklin, Craig Martin, and Emily E. Mankowski.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Products Liability & Mass Torts Litigation Practice: The Products Liability & Mass Torts Litigation Practice is an integral part of Greenberg Traurig’s 700+ member global Litigation Practice. The team is nationally recognized for its dynamic courtroom presence, responsiveness to clients, and deep subject matter knowledge. The practice won Law360’s 2022 Practice Group of the Year Award for Products Liability. Additional recent recognitions include national rankings for “Product Liability & Mass Torts” from Chambers USA and for “Product Liability & Mass Torts Defense” from The Legal 500 United States; the group was also named a National Tier 1 firm for “Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants” in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms ®. In addition, Greenberg Traurig is recognized as a “Product Liability Litigation Leader” in the 2024 BTI Litigation Outlook, published by BTI Consulting Group.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2750 attorneys in 47 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI “Highly Recommended Law Firm” for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 500. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 6.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e® Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: www.gtlaw.com.