Daniel Cloherty quoted in Law360 article on court decision overturning Insys verdict
Daniel J. Cloherty was quoted in a Law360 article on a federal judge's decision overturning part of a landmark opioid jury verdict against executives of Insys Therapeutics.
U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs of the District of Massachusetts overturned a conviction of Insys founder John Kapoor and four other executives that was based on a charge brought by prosecutors under the Controlled Substances Act and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
The jury had determined that the Insys executives conspired to bribe doctors to prescribe a powerful opioid to patients who didn't need the drug.
However, Judge Burroughs ruled that the government did not prove that the executives knew the drug was being prescribed improperly, even though they wanted to sell as much as the drug as possible to medical providers.
"Just the desire to sell the drug isn't enough," Mr. Cloherty told the publication. "There has to be some evidence that the pharmaceutical reps or the company intended that the doctors would violate their duty to patients. That's a challenging standard for the government to meet."
Mr. Cloherty, a partner at Todd & Weld and part of the firm's Government Investigations and Criminal Defense practice group, represents individuals and businesses in government investigations and enforcement matters. He has extensive experience handling a wide range of criminal and civil matters in state and federal courts.