Judge Says Suboxone ‘Schedule A’ Lawsuits Should Be Filed Individually or Dismissed

Thousands of lawsuits were submitted on a spreadsheet known as “Schedule A” nearly two years ago, to allow individuals left with tooth decay to bring their claim before a statute of limitations deadline that applied in several states.

The U.S. District Judge overseeing all federal Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits indicates that thousands of individuals who brought their claims as part of a consolidated filing in June 2024, known as “Schedule A” lawsuits, must now either refile their case individually or drop their claim, marking a turning point in the massive litigation.

Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) is a prescription drug used by those recovering from opioid addiction, helping reduce cravings and manage withdrawal symptoms. While it was initially approved in tablet form in 2002, it was later reformulated into a dissolvable film placed under the tongue.

The litigation emerged after reports began to surface linking the sublingual film to severe tooth decay and dental damage, including tooth loss, disfigurement and the need for extensive dental work. By June 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added a Suboxone tooth decay warning after receiving hundreds of complaints, which was followed by a wave of personal injury claims.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in cases filed across the country, the federal judiciary consolidated the claims into a multidistrict litigation, or MDL, in February 2024, assigning them to U.S. District Judge Philip Calabrese in the Northern District of Ohio for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

Many of the claims were brought as the two year anniversary of the warning label approached in June 2024, with Judge Calabrese authorizing thousands of plaintiffs to submit abbreviated complaints that lacked key details, such as injury information, medical records and product use history. These filings were grouped into what became known as “Schedule A,” to satisfy requirements of state statute of limitations lawsuits while lawyers continued to secure supporting documentation for potential claims.

Now, two years later, the Court indicates that plaintiffs have had sufficient time to complete an investigation of their claims, and must either move forward with filing fully developed individual Suboxone lawsuits or face dismissal of their claims.

Suboxone “Schedule A” Tooth Decay Lawsuits

Last week, lawyers met with Judge Calabrese for an in-person case management conference on April 22, to discuss the status of the Suboxone litigation and management of nearly ten thousand claims.

During the conference, the parties reviewed where the discovery process currently stands, deposition schedules and other key processes in preparing the first cases for eventual bellwether early test trials. These will give the parties a chance to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony likely to be repeated throughout the claims as they move forward.

However, in minutes and a court order (PDF) issued the next day, the judge also indicated it was time to complete and merge the cases in Schedule A into the rest of the litigation.

“The Court again raised with counsel the process and timeline for closing out Schedule A. The Court articulated that, in its view, the time for doing has passed and that Plaintiffs should either be dismissed or file individual cases.”

– U.S. District Judge Philip Calabrese

When the list was first compiled, it contained more than 9,600 Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits that were not fully fleshed out. Recent updates from the court have indicated that number has declined to about 5,000 in the last two years. However, thousands of other claims have already been brought individually.

Suboxone Tooth Decay Lawsuit Status

Over the past year, Judge Calabrese has directed the parties to prepare a group of representative cases for bellwether trials.

Originally designating 500 Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits as part of a Records Collection Pool in May 2025, that pool was then whittled down to 100 claims. Last month, the judge called for parties and the court to select 20 random cases from the list for core discovery by June 10. The parties will then select 15 claims to serve as bellwether trials by July 13, 2026.

That group will again be narrowed down to four final bellwether trial selections by June 11, 2027. The first trial is not expected to go before a jury until March 2028.

Although the outcomes of these trials will not be binding, the juries’ decisions and awards to plaintiffs could help the parties form a basis for a Suboxone tooth decay lawsuit settlement agreement. If that fails, Judge Calabrese will likely begin remanding cases back to their original district courts to be prepared for individual trial dates.

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