IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2017-IA-00300-SCT
PURDUE PHARMA L.P., PURDUE PHARMA, INC., THE PURDUE FREDERICK COMPANY, INC., TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS, USA, INC., CEPHALON, INC., JOHNSON & JOHNSON, JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., ORTHO- McNEIL-JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. n/k/a JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICA, INC., n/k/a JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., ENDO HEALTH SOLUTIONS INC., ENDO PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., WATSON LABORATORIES, INC. n/k/a ACTAVIS LABORATORIES UT, INC., ACTAVIS LLC AND ACTAVIS PHARMA, INC. f/k/a WATSON PHARMA, INC.
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 02/13/2017 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. DENISE OWENS TRIAL COURT ATTORNEYS: GEORGE W. NEVILLE JACQUELINE H. RAY JENNIFER F. CONNOLLY JOE N. TATUM JOHN LEE DAVIDSON STEPHEN L. THOMAS CHRISTOPHER A. SHAPLEY JOSEPH ANTHONY SCLAFANI STEVEN A. REED CHAD ROBERTS HUTCHINSON DAVID F. MARON JAMES WILLIAM MATTHEWS STEPHANIE M. RIPPEE STEVE W. BERMAN R. DAVID KAUFMAN BRIAN M. ERCOLE J. GORDON COONEY, JR. TINOS DIAMANTATOS ALAN W. PERRY SIMON TURNER BAILEY CAROLYN J. KUBOTA CHAD ROBERTS HUTCHINSON CHARLES C. LIFLAND IVANA CINGEL J. CARTER THOMPSON, JR. JOSHUA M. DAVIS SAMUEL DEUCALION GREGORY JASON LIRAN DRORI KATY ELLEN KOSKI PAUL STEPHENSON PATRICK J. FITZGERALD COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: HINDS COUNTY CHANCERY COURT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANTS: JOSEPH ANTHONY SCLAFANI R. DAVID KAUFMAN CHRISTOPHER A. SHAPLEY SHEILA BIRNBAUM MARK S. CHEFFO HAYDEN A. COLEMAN STEPHEN L. THOMAS ALAN W. PERRY SIMON TURNER BAILEY JOSHUA M. DAVIS BRIAN M. ERCOLE J. GORDON COONEY, JR. TINOS DIAMANTATOS STEVEN A. REED CHAD ROBERTS HUTCHINSON CHRISTY D. JONES ADAM JULIUS SPICER CHARLES C. LIFLAND IVANA CINGAL CAROLYN J. KUBOTA
J. CARTER THOMPSON, JR. DAVID F. MARON SAMUEL DEUCALION GREGORY ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: GEORGE W. NEVILLE JACQUELINE H. RAY GORDON GARLAND LYELL, III GEOFFREY C. MORGAN SAMUEL MARTIN MILLETTE JOHN LEE DAVIDSON JOE N. TATUM STEVE W. BERMAN JENNIFER F. CONNOLLY JAMES L. WARD, JR. ROBERT S. WOOD NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - OTHER DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED AND REMANDED -10/18/2018 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED:
BEFORE KITCHENS, P.J., KING AND BEAM, JJ.
KING, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:
¶1. In this interlocutory appeal, the Court must determine whether the location of a
foreign corporation's registered agent is relevant when determining the appropriate venue
for an action. We find that the adoption of the Registered Agents Act ("RAA") made the
location of a corporation's registered agent irrelevant for purposes of venue.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶2. On December 15, 2015, the State of Mississippi filed a complaint in the Hinds County
Chancery Court against fifteen pharmaceutical manufacturers and their affiliates
("Defendants"). According to the complaint, opioids originally were designed to treat "short-
term post-surgical and trauma-related pain, and for palliative (end-of-life) care." However,
in an effort to increase profits, the State alleged that Defendants employed a wide variety of
deceptive and misleading practices designed to enter and conquer the chronic-pain market.
The State alleged that Defendants, despite knowledge of the addictive nature of opioids,
engaged in a marketing campaign "to create a profound transformation in medical and public
perception that would permit the use of opioids not