Federal judge rules in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of causing a health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in one West Virginia county.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of causing a health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in one West Virginia county ravaged by opioid addiction.
Cabell County attorney Paul Farrell had argued the distributors should be held responsible for sending a “tsunami” of prescription pain pills into the community and that the defendants’ conduct was unreasonable, reckless and disregarded the public’s health and safety in an area ravaged by opioid addiction.
Faber noted that the plaintiffs offered no evidence that the defendants distributed controlled substances to any entity that didn’t hold a proper registration from the Drug Enforcement Agency or the state Board of Pharmacy. The defendants also had suspicious monitoring systems in place as required by the Controlled Substances Act, he said.
“As we continue to fulfill our limited role in the pharmaceutical supply chain, we operate a constantly adaptive and rigorous system to combat controlled substance diversion and remain committed to being part of the solution to the opioid crisis.”“We felt the evidence that emerged from witness statements, company documents, and extensive datasets showed these defendants were responsible for creating and overseeing the infrastructure that flooded West Virginia with opioids.
The plaintiffs had sought more than $2.5 billion that would have gone toward abatement efforts. The goal of the 15-year abatement plan would have been to reduce overdoses, overdose deaths and the number of people with opioid use disorder.
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