In a recent development concerning the opioid multidistrict litigation, U.S District Judge Dan Polster ruled that David Cohen, the special master assigned to the litigation since 2018, would not be disqualified from the case. The decision comes after Cohen inadvertently sent an email intended for himself to the lawyers involved in the case, prompting a motion for his disqualification by two pharmacy benefit managers.
In his ruling, Judge Polster reaffirmed the protection offered to special masters under the judicial deliberative privilege. He called upon this privilege to highlight the importance and integrity of free deliberations on case matters, thereby preventing Cohen’s removal from the proceedings.
The judicial deliberative privilege has been invoked here to uphold the independence of a special master and maintain the course of the ongoing litigation. The ruling provides a noteworthy instance of the application of this privilege in contemporary litigation cases of significant scale.