City And County Of San Francisco v. Purdue Pharma L.P.

620 F.Supp.3d 936 (2022)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Between 2006 and 2020, D distributed and dispensed over one hundred million prescription opioid pills in the city. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and its implementing regulations impose duties on distributors and dispensers of prescription opioids. In exchange for the privilege of distributing and dispensing prescription opioids, D has regulatory obligations to take reasonable steps to prevent the drugs from being diverted and harming the public. The evidence at trial established that D breached these obligations. CSA regulations require distributors to implement and maintain a system for identifying suspicious orders of opioids. Suspicious orders of opioids must be halted and reported to the DEA. The evidence at trial established that D violated this regulatory duty for several years. D did not maintain an effective system for identifying suspicious orders. It shipped thousands of suspicious orders to its pharmacies without investigation. In 2012, the DEA shut down one of D's three controlled substance distribution centers because the distribution center's failure to monitor for suspicious opioid orders posed an imminent threat of harm to public health and safety. Shortly thereafter, D stopped distributing opioids altogether.