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Johnson & Johnson loses Oklahoma opioid trial, must pay $572,000,000

Johnson & Johnson must pay $572 million to Oklahoma for wrongfully marketing opioid drugs, a judge ruled in the first trial by a state seeking compensation for the public-health crisis spawned by the painkillers.

File-This July 15, 2019, file photo shows Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter speaking during closing arguments in Oklahoma's ongoing opioid drug lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, in Norman, Okla. An Oklahoma judge is expected to deliver a verdict following a first-of-its-kind trial in which the state is trying to hold an opioid drugmaker responsible for the devastating consequences of addiction to the powerful painkillers. .(Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
File-This July 15, 2019, file photo shows Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter speaking during closing arguments in Oklahoma's ongoing opioid drug lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, in Norman, Okla. An Oklahoma judge is expected to deliver a verdict following a first-of-its-kind trial in which the state is trying to hold an opioid drugmaker responsible for the devastating consequences of addiction to the powerful painkillers. .(Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)Read moreSue Ogrocki / AP
    by Jef Feeley, Bloomberg
    Published 

Johnson & Johnson must pay $572 million to Oklahoma for wrongfully marketing opioid drugs, a judge ruled in the first trial by a state seeking compensation for the public-health crisis spawned by the painkillers.

Shares rose 4 percent as investors welcomed the ruling. Oklahoma had sought as much as $17.5 billion.

Oklahoma Judge Thad Balkman ruled Monday that J&J created a temporary public nuisance by duping doctors into overprescribing its opioid-based medications and must cover the government’s costs in dealing a surge in rates of addiction and overdoses. The award provides funds to beef up emergency services and treatment budgets.

Representatives for J&J didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.