Cleveland – A federal judge in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties that sued CVS, Walgreens and Walmart over the way national pharmacy chains distributed opioids to their communities.
US District Judge Dan Polster said in his ruling that the money will be used to fight the opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland. District attorneys estimated the total price of the damage at $3.3 billion.
The judge blamed the three companies, saying they “missed the opportunity to present a meaningful nuisance mitigation plan” after last spring’s actions to determine what counties are worth.
Lake County will receive $306 million over 15 years. Trumbull County will receive $344 million over the same period. Polster ordered the companies to forego nearly $87 million immediately to cover the first two years of payments, but it was not clear whether they would have to pay that money during the appeal.
“Today marks the beginning of a new day in our fight to end the opioid epidemic,” Lake County Commissioner John Hammerchik said in a statement.
A jury in November handed down a verdict in favor of the counties after a six-week trial. Then it was left to the judge to decide how much the districts should receive. Hear testimony in May to determine the damages.
The counties convinced the jury that pharmacies played a huge role in creating public inconvenience in the way they dispensed painkillers.
It was the first time that pharmaceutical companies completed an experiment to defend themselves in a drug crisis that has killed half a million Americans since 1999.
The compensation decision came on the same day that attorneys general from several states announced that they had reached an agreement with opioid maker Endo International to pay up to $450 million over 10 years. The payments settle allegations that the company used deceptive marketing practices that “reduced the risk of addiction and exaggerated the benefits” of opioids.
Lawyers for pharmacy chains insisted they had policies to stem the flow of pills when pharmacists expressed concerns and would report suspicious orders from doctors to authorities. They also said that it is doctors who control the number of pills prescribed for legitimate medical needs, not pharmacies.
Walmart issued a statement Wednesday saying that the counties have “sued Walmart for deep pockets, and this ruling follows a trial designed in favor of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, and was riddled with marked legal and factual errors.”
“The facts and the law do not support the jury’s ruling last fall, and they do not support the court’s decision now,” Walgreens spokesman Fraser Ingerman said.
He said that the court “committed serious legal errors in allowing the case to appear in jury on a flawed legal theory inconsistent with Ohio law, and these errors were exacerbated in reaching its verdict on damages.”
CVS spokesperson Michael DeAngeles said the company strongly opposes the court’s decision on damages as well as the primary ruling.
CVS is headquartered in Rhode Island, Greens in Illinois, and Walmart in Arkansas.
Two chains – Rite Aid and Giant Eagle – settled lawsuits with the counties before trial. The amounts they paid have not been publicly disclosed.
Mark Lanier, the district attorney, said during the trial that pharmacies were trying to blame everyone but themselves.
Lanier told jurors that the opioid crisis has overwhelmed the courts, social service agencies and law enforcement in Ohio’s blue-collar corner east of Cleveland, leaving behind heartbroken families and children born to addicted mothers.
Nearly 80 million prescription pain relievers were distributed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — the equivalent of 400 per resident. In Lake County, about 61 million pills were distributed during that time.
At the opening of the trial, Walgreens attorney Caspar Stoofmayer said prescriptions for pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone were beginning to recognize patients’ right to be treated for pain.
The problem, he said, was that “pharmaceutical companies deceived doctors into writing too many pills.”
The counties said pharmacies should be the last line of defense to prevent pills from getting into the wrong hands.
The trial was part of a broader constellation of about 3,000 federal lawsuits over standardized opioids under Polster’s direction. Other cases are moving forward in state courts.
Kevin Roy, chief public policy officer for Shatterproof, an organization that advocates for solutions to addiction, said in November that the ruling could lead pharmacies to follow the path of major distribution companies and some drug manufacturers that have reached nationwide settlements for opioid issues. valued at billions of dollars. dollar. So far, no pharmacy has reached a nationwide settlement.
The agreement with Ireland-based Endo calls for $450 million to be split between participating countries and communities. Endo is also calling for opioid-related documents to be placed online for public viewing and for $2.75 million in expenses to publicly archive these documents.
According to the agreement, Endo can never market opioids. Tuesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The US-based company in Malvern, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday did not respond to phone and email requests for comment on the agreement.
Endo produces generic and brand-name opioids such as Percocet and Endocet. The company’s Opana ER opioids were pulled from the market in 2017.
Prosecutors say Endo “falsely promoted the benefits of Opera AR’s so-called abuse deterrent formula”. The attorney general said the combination did not deter drug abuse and led to fatal outbreaks of hepatitis and HIV from people injecting it.
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