CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On October 28, 2019, the State of Illinois announced a $242 million settlement it secured with the help of Miner, Barnhill & Galland against numerous drug manufacturers.
Since 2004, Miner, Barnhill & Galland has served as outside counsel to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General in connection with its litigation alleging that nearly four dozen drug companies reported false and inflated Average Wholesale Prices (“AWPs”) that were used in setting the rates for Medicaid reimbursements to Illinois pharmacies who dispensed drugs to Medicaid patients. On October 28, 2019, the Office of the Illinois Attorney General issued a press release announcing the recovery of $242 million for the state through a settlement with the following drug companies: Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Aventis Behring LLC (n/k/a ZLB Behring); B. Braun Medical Inc., Forest Laboratories, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline LLC, Johnson & Johnson, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceutical Products, LP, McNeil-PPC, Inc., Ortho Biotech Products, LP, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia Corporation, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products, Inc.
The $242 million settlement followed the May 2019 bench trial of the State’s claims against Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceutical Products, LP, McNeil-PPC, Inc., Ortho Biotech Products, LP, and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. An earlier $135 million settlement of the State’s claims against Teva Pharmaceuticals, USA Inc. was announced in January 2019, following a bench trial and a ruling that Teva had violated the Illinois False Claims Act and caused damage to the State.
The $242 million settlement announced by the Office of the Attorney General on October 28, 2019 resolves the State’s claims against all remaining defendants in the case. In total, Miner Barnhill & Galland recovered more than $678 million on behalf of the State of Illinois in this litigation.
In addition to representing the state of Illinois, Miner, Barnhill & Galland has represented the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Wisconsin in similar litigation, and has recovered nearly $1.2 billion through settlements and judgments after trial for these clients. The Miner, Barnhill & Galland attorneys that have served as Special Assistant Attorneys General in this litigation include Charles Barnhill, Jr., George Galland, Jr., Robert Libman, Benjamin Blustein, Sarah Siskind, Betty Eberle, Scott Entin, Deanna Pihos, and Dave Baltmanis.
Founded in 1971, Miner Barnhill & Galland, with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Madison, Wisconsin, has a national reputation for its complex civil litigation practice on behalf of plaintiffs, including individuals, classes, and government entities, in the areas of civil rights, consumer protection, environmental protection, and government fraud.