CHARLESTON – Thirteen more lawsuits have been filed by cities, towns and county commissions against drug companies for the opioid epidemic across West Virginia.
The county commissions of Clay, Braxton and Nicholas; the cities of Parkersburg, Summersville, Logan, Milton, Smithers; and the towns of Rainelle, Rupert, Quinwood, Sutton and Granville filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on March 9 and March 12.
The defendants include AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation; Cardinal Health Inc.; Miami-Luken Inc. and McKesson Corporation; as well as various pharmacies.
The defendants owe a duty under West Virginia state law, as well as federal law, to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opiates originating from and around the cities, counties and towns.
“The foreseeable harm from a breach of this duty is the diversion and use of prescription opiates for nonmedical purposes,” the complaints state.
The defendants repeatedly and purposefully breached their duties under federal and state law, which is a direct and proximate cause of the diversion of millions of prescription opiates for nonmedical purposes in and around the cities, counties and towns.
“The unlawful diversion of prescription opiates is a direct and proximate cause of prescription opiate abuse, addiction, morbidity and mortality” in the cities, counties and towns, as well as the direct and proximate cause of the opioid epidemic currently plaguing them, according to the suits.
The plaintiffs claim the opioid epidemic remains an immediate hazard to public health and safety, is a public nuisance and remains unabated.
“The unlawful distribution of prescription pain pills are a public nuisance upon [the plaintiffs] and [the plaintiffs] bring this civil action against the Defendant Wholesale Distributors seeking damages necessary to eliminate the hazard to public health and safety as well as abate, or cause to be abated, the public nuisance,” the complaints state.
The lawsuits are the latest string of legal actions taken by local governments to hold the companies accountable for the opioid epidemic plaguing the state.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are being represented by Charles R “Rusty” Webb of the Webb Law Centre and John D. Hurst of Motley Rice, except for the lawsuit filed by Clay, which is represented by Mark E. Troy of Troy Law Firm; H. Truman Chafin and Letitia N. Chafin of The Chafin Law Firm; Harry F. Bell Jr. of Stewart Bell; and John Yanchunis, Patrick Barthle and James D. Young of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group.