Utah v. Express Scripts

In 2025, Utah sued several pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in Utah state court under Utah state law, alleging that the PBMs had contributed to the opioid crisis by giving opioids preferred placements in their formularies and failing to impose meaningful limitations on their use.  Some of the PBMs removed the action to federal court, invoking the federal-officer removal statute, and arguing that the suit related to actions they took “acting under” federal officer direction. The district court granted Utah’s motion to remand the case to state court, and the PBMs appealed to the Tenth Circuit. The PBMs also asked the Tenth Circuit for a stay of the remand order pending appeal, arguing that they were entitled to such a stay “automatically” by virtue of their appeal.

Public Citizen filed an amicus brief in support of Utah. As to the stay, the brief explains that an appeal from a remand order does not automatically stay the resumption of state court jurisdiction. On the merits, the brief explains that the PBMs were incorrect that a relationship between federal-officer directed action and a plaintiff’s injury was sufficient to justify removal; rather, there must be a relationship between the “challenged acts” and the acts directed by a federal officer.