Columbus, OH – On Wednesday, The Buckeye Institute filed its third amicus brief in the National Prescription Opiate multidistrict litigation case (In re OptumRx) before Judge Dan Polster in the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Ohio. In its brief, Buckeye calls on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to issue a writ of mandamus ordering the district court  to strictly adhere to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that govern all civil court cases. 

“While the judge’s desire to solve the national opioid crisis is laudable, respectfully, that is not the court’s role. Given that every order this judge issues affects numerous parties in numerous cases, the court must follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and not give favor to any side in an effort to promote a settlement,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute.

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute argues that courts are required to adhere to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, even in multidistrict litigation cases, and that the district court erred when it added nearly 800 more plaintiffs to the case without making individual determinations as to the merits of each plaintiff’s claims. The Buckeye Institute points out that multidistrict litigation cases are prone—if not properly administered—to attract invalid claims, making adherence to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and early scrutiny particularly important. In fact, the Sixth Circuit already admonished the district court that “an MDL [multidistrict litigation] court’s determination of the parties’ rights in an individual case must be based on the same legal rules that apply in other cases, as applied to the record in that case alone.” The Buckeye Institute urged the Sixth Circuit to vacate the district court’s ruling, adding nearly 800 more plaintiffs to the case, and order the court to adhere to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

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