Judge rules no coverage for 11 suits against Mallinckrodt trust

A Missouri trial judge ruled Monday a bankruptcy trust for Irish pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt Plc cannot obtain coverage from insurers for 11 opioid lawsuits because they fall within a “products-completed” exclusion.

St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Richard M. Stewart said in Opioid Master Disbursement Trust II v. ACE American Insurance Co. et al. that the allegations in the lawsuits were subject to the exclusion because they arose from “unbranded” representations Mallinckrodt made about its opioid products as part of its efforts to boost sales.

Mallinckrodt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Delaware in October 2020, citing high debt and opioid-related lawsuits. The Dublin-based drug maker emerged from bankruptcy in November 2023.

The bankruptcy court created a trust for Mallinckrodt’s opioid-related liabilities and entered an order in March 2022 allowing the trust to seek insurance coverage for opioid-related claims, court records show.

The trust then sued Mallinckrodt’s insurers, including American International Group Inc. units and Chubb Ltd. The parties filed competing motions for partial summary judgment on the applicability of the products-completed exclusion.

Representatives for the parties did not respond to requests for comment.