Johnson & Johnson calls political intervention in case ‘unnecessary’

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson says there’s no need for a judge who ordered the drugmaker to pay $572 million to help clean up Oklahoma’s opioid crisis to let several of the state’s Republican leaders intervene in the case.

In a brief filed Tuesday, attorneys said the attempt by Gov. Kevin Stitt, House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat to intervene is “unnecessary, redundant and unpersuasive.”

The three politicians filed an amicus brief last month asking the judge to consider that additional payments from the company might be needed in the future to help abate the opioid crisis.

District Judge Thad Balkman in August ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to Oklahoma. The judge has not yet released his final order.