CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office has filed another lawsuit against a pharmacy claiming it dispensed an inordinate number of prescription opioids.
The complaint claims Judy’s Drug Store of Petersburg in Grant County dispensed nearly 1.8 million doses of hydrocodone and oxycodone to a three-county region of fewer than 34,000 residents.
It says the alleged conduct, in violation of the state’s consumer protection laws, occurred from 2010 until this year. It also says the pharmacy and several employees already had paid $2 million to end a federal investigation in 2014 involving allegations the business repeatedly filled prescriptions that had no legitimate medical purpose.
“Every participant in the supply chain must do its part to ensure proper use of these highly addictive drugs,” Morrisey said in a statement. “Anything less places consumers at great risk of addiction and death, a devastating reality already experienced by far too many families and one that must end.”
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 22 in Hardy Circuit Court, follows a similar AG complaint from two weeks against Larry’s Drive-in Pharmacy of Madison in Boone County.
The Judy’s lawsuit says the pharmacy failed to identify suspicious prescriptions or determine whether it dispenses a suspicious number of pills. The pharmacy says it serves customers from Grant, Hardy and Pendleton counties.
The eight-count civil complaint charges Judy’s with violating the state’s Controlled Substance Act and the Consumer Protection and Credit Act. It also alleges unfair methods of competition, negligence, unjust enrichment, creating a public nuisance and intentional acts and omissions.
The AG's office seeks civil penalties and punitive damages, along with an injunction.
General Counsel Edward Wenger and Assistant Attorney General Steven A. Travis filed the complaint on behalf of the AG's office. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge H. Charles Carl III.
Hardy Circuit Court case number 16-C-54
