Judge Orders Plaintiffs to Pay Costs after Awarding Summary Judgment to OxyContin Maker

BEAUMONT, Texas - A federal judge ordered the plaintiffs in a wrongful death suit against the companies that manufactured and marketed OxyContin to pay over $2,000.00 in costs after the companies were awarded summary judgment. Renell Fritsche, et al., v. Purdue Pharma, Inc., et al., No. 01-CV-777 (E.D. Texas, Beaumont Div.).

U.S. District Judge Ron Clark's ruling stated that the plaintiffs failed to designate an expert by the Nov. 15, 2002, deadline and that their responses to the defendants' discovery requests were 'dilatory to nonexistent.'

Larry Holt, a resident of Vermillion Parish, La., was prescribed OxyContin for the treatment of …