An appeals court on Thursday denied Attorney General Ashley Moody’s request to escalate a legal dispute over opioid-epidemic lawsuits to the Florida Supreme Court. The case involves whether hospital districts and school boards should be allowed to pursue their own lawsuits against the pharmaceutical industry, following settlements Moody reached with drug manufacturers and distributors.
The 1st District Court of Appeal did not provide an explanation for its decision. On August 29, Moody’s office asked the appeals court to certify a “question of great public importance” to the Supreme Court after a panel ruled against her in the ongoing legal battle. The dispute centers on Moody’s authority to negotiate settlements that would override lawsuits filed by local government agencies.
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The appeals panel previously ruled in favor of several local agencies, including the Sarasota County Public Hospital District, Lee Memorial Health System, the North Broward Hospital District, the South Broward Hospital District, Halifax Hospital Medical Center, the Miami-Dade County School Board, and the Putnam County School Board. These agencies are seeking to recover costs related to treating patients or educating children impacted by the opioid epidemic.
Moody had argued that the state’s settlements with the pharmaceutical companies should preempt the local lawsuits. Her office entered into seven settlements with various companies, many of which included a “release” of claims by local governments. Some settlements were part of multi-state litigation, while others resulted from a lawsuit filed by the attorney general’s office in Pasco County.
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In 2022, Moody filed a lawsuit in Leon County circuit court in an effort to prevent the hospital districts and school boards from pursuing their own claims. While Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper initially ruled in her favor, the appeals court panel later overturned that decision.
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