Opioid Trial Update: Cabell, Huntington Cases Selected Next

Opioid Trial Update: Cabell, Huntington Cases Selected Next

Introduction

According to an order issued on December 31 by federal Judge Dan Polster, lawsuits filed by Cabell County Commission and City of Huntington are the next to go for trial among hundreds of other opioid lawsuits claiming extreme side-effects of the prescription pill overdose.

Huntington attorney Paul T. Farrell Jr. indicated the parties representing both the governments are expected to meet this week to decide on the trial date, and evidence exchange for both cases would begin on January 25, 2019. These are the second set of opioid lawsuits to head for trial after Judge Polster selected lawsuits filed by Cleveland and the Ohio counties of Cuyahoga and Summit for a September 2019 trial. Cabell County and Huntington were the first local governments to sue opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies in 2017 alleging breach of duty to detect, monitor, and report an alarming rise in the prescription drug sale.

The lawsuits alleged more than 86 million opioid medication was sold in Cabell County between 2006 and 2014 while the county's total population was about 96,000. Cabell County initially filed a lawsuit against the "Big Three" and H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug Co., CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart, Kroger and Walgreens in 2017. However, the county also filed an amended complaint in April 2018 targeting seven manufacturers and companies including Purdue Pharma, Actavis, Cephalon, Janssen, Endo, Insys Therapeutics and Mallinckrodt over illegal marketing of the opioids. Huntington filed a lawsuit against the "Big Three" drug distributors - AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson - and former Dr. Gregory Donald Chaney.

More than 1,600 opioid lawsuits have been filed with similar allegations across the U.S. which are consolidated into a multidistrict litigation MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation) overlooked by Judge Polster in the Northern District of Ohio.

Earlier, the city of San Francisco and the state of California has sued drug providers Purdue Pharma for fraudulent practices and causing public health epidemic. The attorney for the state and the city alleged the drugmakers and distributors of deceived marketing of opioids by stating that it is safe for use. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster of the federal court in Ohio will oversee the lawsuit along with the other 1,200 similar opioid lawsuits filed by various cities, counties, and states.

According to the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Center for Health Statistics, opioids such as oxycontin, oxycodone, and fentanyl lead to respiratory disorders, heart complications, addiction, and overdose deaths. The center has even declared fentanyl as the most dangerous drug used in the U.S.

An Ohio federal judge overseeing 2,500 cases accusing several drug companies and pharmacies of fueling the opioid epidemic is asking Cabell County and Huntington attorneys to scale back their outlook in a case in which attorneys said they will seek at least $500 million, as he works to push several cases toward trial.

The lawsuits argue that manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and pharmacy benefit managers breached their duty to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opiates coming into the states over the past several years. A duty the lawsuits claim companies have under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

It seeks costs to help get people into recovery, as well as regaining money spent by the governments in response to the opioid epidemic. The plaintiffs also are seeking money for future recovery.

The opioid crisis has also put a toll on the Grande Prairie city budget indirectly. The real estate market in Grande Prairie has gone down along with the decrease in citizenry productivity. This has led to eroding of the tax base and income in the city. The lawsuit has been filed against reputed pharmaceutical companies like Apotex and Johnson & Johnson, who are opioid manufacturers. The defendant list also includes Shoppers Drug Mart and Jean Coutu.
 
Opioid addiction in Northeast Ohio became the cause of death for thousands of deaths. The death rate was due to the high use of heroin, fentanyl, and other painkillers. The lawsuits also state that the huge amount of pills dumped in the market increase the addiction to these painkillers, as people chose cheaper heroin on the streets over prescription painkillers. 
 
A case for the opioid crisis that began in 2014 was the first in history where local government entities sued Big Pharma for causing painkiller addiction. The case brought by Oklahoma in 2019 was the first to go for trial where Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $572 million in an opioid lawsuit. Later, the verdict was reduced to $465 million, for which the appeal is still pending.

Federal health officials warned that opioids account for nearly 70% of all drug overdoses. 3,100 deaths were accounted for due to opioid overdoses in 2013 and the number has surpassed 36,000 by 2019.