N.S. court approves opioid lawsuit deal, as some claimants say it falls short
HALIFAX — Jayne Turner couldn’t change an out-of-court deal in a lawsuit against the manufacturer of OxyContin on Tuesday, but she had her say before a Nova Scotia judge on how the prescription painkiller forever altered her life.
“I lost a husband and everything he represented. … All that could have been, never can be,” the New Brunswick woman told Justice John Murphy, a few minutes before he ruled in favour of accepting a class action settlement of $20 million to be paid by Purdue Pharma.
Murphy became the second judge to approve a settlement of the national lawsuit. With acceptances in Ontario and Nova Scotia, it must now go before judges in Quebec City and Regina before the settlement is finally completed.
Turner drove seven hours from Grand Manan, N.B., for Tuesday’s hearing in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.