The companies filed a motion urging the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to maintain the consolidation of the lawsuits in Pennsylvania federal court, opposing the states' initiative to move their cases back to federal court in Connecticut, where the litigation originated in 2016, Reuters noted.

The extensive litigation encompasses allegations against dozens of generic pharmaceutical companies for conspiring to fix prices on hundreds of drugs. 

At the center of the dispute over venue lies a new federal law empowering states to select their preferred jurisdictions for pursuing antitrust cases. 

This legal development, known as the Venue Act, has already influenced decisions in unrelated cases, notably one involving Google, wherein a U.S. appeals court allowed a state to exit multidistrict litigation in Manhattan federal court.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.