HUNTINGTON — A federal judge has denied a motion for summary judgement by three large drug distributors, meaning the opioid cases filed by Cabell County and Huntington likely will begin next month.
U.S. District Judge David Faber denied the motion March 31 by AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson to stop the public nuisance trial. The bench trial is scheduled to begin May 3 in Charleston.
The city and county blame the three companies for helping fueling the opioid crisis. The summary judgment motion was heard February 9.
Faber
“We are pleased that the court recognized the viability of our claims and look forward to starting trial in May,” Tony Majestro, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, told The West Virginia Record.
Another plaintiff’s attorney says Cabell County and Huntington deserve their day in court.
“During the May trial for the City of Huntington and Cabell County, we will demonstrate how the defendants, alongside other companies in the supply chain, created this ongoing crisis,” Paul Farrell told MetroNews. “Drug distributors ignored their obligations under the Controlled Substance Act and actively pumped pills into American communities like Cabell County and Huntington.
“The repeated attempts by the ‘Big Three’ distributors to delay their courtroom reckoning will not deter these communities from pursuing the resources they need now to combat the opioid crisis that has only worsened amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The defendant companies argued that West Virginia public nuisance laws have only included cases using public property or resources instead of a product. They maintain the claims against them is a private matter, not a public one.
Faber disagreed, and he used a few examples.
“Because the overall businesses of practicing dentistry, running a restaurant, and operating a lawn maintenance company are lawful, illegal acts that further those businesses would be shielded from the law of public nuisance regardless of the threat to public health,” he wrote.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case numbers 3:17-cv-01362 (Huntington) and 3:17-cv-01665 (Cabell)