District Court Rules that Oxycontin Class Allegations May Be Withdrawn

ABINGDON, Va. - According to a March 14 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, it is not necessary to determine class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 before allowing the plaintiffs to withdraw their class action allegations in the McCaulley v. Purdue Pharma OxyContin case. A.F. McCaulley, et al. v. Purdue Pharma, L.P., et al., No. 2:01CV00080 (D. Va.).

Determination under Rule 23 is unnecessary in this particular case because, in spite of the wide publicity over the case, there has been no direct showing of any reliance by putative class members, …