OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Drugmakers accused of fueling an opioid epidemic in Oklahoma are asking the state's highest court to delay a civil trial.
A Supreme Court referee is set to hear drugmakers' request Wednesday after a Cleveland County judge denied a request to postpone the May 28 start. The referee will make a recommendation to the court.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter sued 13 opioid manufacturers in 2017, alleging they fraudulently engaged in marketing campaigns that led to thousands of overdose addictions and deaths.
Several states filed similar lawsuits, but Oklahoma's is expected to be the first to go to trial.
The drugmakers say they need more time to analyze more than a million documents they received from the attorney general last month. State attorneys say the companies' allegations are "false and misleading."