CLEVELAND — A state Supreme Court decision could upend a $650 million dollar verdict against three major pharmacy chains, which two Ohio counties alleged were fueling the opioid crisis.
Grieving Overdose Founder Michelle Liddy said her son, like many others across the state, struggled with addiction.
“I had two kids, but I lost my oldest [on] Aug. 4, 2021, to an overdose,” she said. “It was actually fentanyl poisoning.”
Ohio has long been at the center of the Opioid epidemic, with the Ohio Department of Health reporting more than 30,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths since the epidemic started over a decade ago. The widespread toll on residents’ wellbeing is what inspired Lake and Trumball Counties to sue the pharmacies and was the first of thousands of cases filed by local governments over the opioid epidemic in 2021.
A federal jury in Cleveland ruled the pharmacies contributed to an oversupply of opioids, creating a public nuisance. Case Western Reserve Law Professor Andrew Pollis said the Ohio Public Nuisance Law to make their argument.
“Public nuisance is when you do something that creates an unreasonable health hazard to a community, typically like dumping into a river if you’re an industrial polluter,” he said.
The pharmacy operators were ordered to pay a combined $650 million to the two countries to help them deal with the repercussions of the epidemic. In response, the pharmacies appealed, arguing the way the counties sued, by filing a common law public nuisance case, was incorrect.
The state said the counties should have filed under the Ohio Product Liability Act. Pollis said claims under the act are usually field directly by a patient suing manufacturer or distributors for selling defective products and seeking damages.
“The problem here is it’s not the patients who have sued. The counties of Lake and Trumbull did not ingest opioids,” Pollis said.
CVS and Walgreens wrote in a statement to Spectrum News that they are “pleased” with the court’s ruling.
Walmart wrote that the court’s decision will allow them to continue ensuring the wellbeing of their patients.
“As a pharmacy industry leader in the fight against the opioid crisis, Walmart is proud of our pharmacists, who are dedicated to helping patients in the face of a tangled web of conflicting federal and state opioid guidelines,” Walmart said.
Pollis said the case will now return to appeals court.
“The Sixth Circuit is likely going to reverse the judgment with the jury verdict and ultimately, that will terminate these counties’ public nuisance claims against the pharmacy companies. “
In a written statement, Lake County administrator Jason Boyd said they are disappointed court’s decision but will continue working to address the negative impacts of the opioid epidemic within the county.
“The Board of Commissioners and our countless partners remaining committed to providing services, treatment and educational opportunities for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) throughout Lake County,” Boyd wrote.
As for Liddy, she said she’s hoping to see local government officials take action and hold pharmacies accountable for their role in the opioid crisis.
“They need to make sure that every safety net possible, every precaution possible, is put into play,” she said. “There needs to be more control over prescriptions.”