MOUNDSVILLE — Eight more cases that were filed against Purdue Pharma and other drug manufacturers were transferred to the state's Mass Litigation Panel.
The eight cases were transferred July 29 to be part of the Opioid Litigation.
"In accordance with the July 5, 2019, Order Regarding Report on Possible Transfers to the Mass Litigation Panel...entered by the Mass Litigation Panel ('MLP'), plaintiffs and defendants in the three groups of civil actions...agree to the transfer of those actions to the MLP," the transfer order states.
A status conference for the Opioid Litigation is scheduled for Sept. 20 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
The cases involve Community Health Association, dba Jackson General; Grant Memorial Hospital; Princeton Community Hospital; Wetzel County Hospital Association; Braxton County Memorial Hospital Inc.; Williamson Memorial Hospital; Grafton Mayor Peggy Knotts Barney; and Phillippi Mayor Philip Bowers.
"The defendants' actions are a serious breach of the public trust, which has resulted in drug abuse, misuse, overdose deaths and untold expenses and lost revenue for plaintiffs," the complaints state.
The complaints state that as distributors, McKesson, Cardinal and AmerisourceBergen bore a significant duty to ensure that the drugs did not end up on the wrong hands.
"In exchange for promising to honor their obligations, each of the distributor defendants were licensed and/or registered by the BOP and ultimately received compensation in the form of millions of dollars per year for shipping volumes of drugs well beyond what a reasonable company would expect," the complaints state. The plaintiffs claim dangerous and addictive drugs were diverted, misused and abused to the point where West Virginia citizens lost their jobs, health and even their lives.
"When the distributor defendants failed to timely submit suspicious order reports, the BOP was nowhere to be seen," the complaints state. "Even when the distributor defendants did submit a handful of suspicious reports, the BOP simply filed them away in a drawer without so much as a second look or cursory investigation."
The plaintiffs claim they filed the lawsuit to recoup expenses and recover damages suffered by residents of the cities and to "abate the continuing public nuisance caused in whole or in part by the collective actions of defendants."
The plaintiffs are represented by H. Truman Chafin and Letitia Chafin of The Chafin Law Firm; Hunter Mullens of Mullens & Mullens PLLC; James Young of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group; Mark Troy of Troy Law Firm; and Harry Bell Jr. of Stewart Bell.
Named as defendants are Purdue Pharma, Purdue Pharma Inc., the Purdue Frederick Co., Richard S. Sackler, Jonathan D. Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Sackler, Kathe A. Sackler, Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, Beverly Sackler, Theresa Sackler, David A. Sackler, Trust for the Benefit of the Mortimer Sackler Family, Trust for the Benefit of the Raymond Sackler Family, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Cephalon, Hanssen Pharmaceuticals, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco, Mallinckrodt Enterprises, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Health Solutions, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Allergan, Actavis PLC, Actavis Pharma, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Watson Pharma, Watson Laboratories, McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health 102, Cardinal Health 110, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug Co., Smith LLC, Rite Aid of Maryland, Wal-mart Stores East, Mark Ross, Patty Carnes, Carol DeBord, Jeff Waugh, Shane Cook and the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy.
