By Dietrich Knauth

(Reuters) – CVS Health Corp. (NYSE), Walgreens boots Alliance. (NASDAQ) Inc. and Walmart. (NYSE) Inc. On Tuesday, they began a unique trial to find out what pharmacy chains owe in order to pay for their involvement in the opioid epidemic that has ravaged two Ohio counties. They are looking at $878 million.

The federal jury found that the companies had contributed to the public nuisance of a flood of prescription painkillers that ended up in black markets. It was the first case the companies have faced in relation to the crisis.

The jury failed to decide the amount that the companies needed to pay in order to address the healthcare crisis. Dan Polster will be determining the exact amounts. It is the first separate trial of pharmacy chain debt after being found liable.

Ohio’s Lake and Trumbull Counties ask the pharmacy chains for funding a five-year $878 million plan. This includes addiction treatment and overdose treatment, legal resources, healthcare providers and training for those who are addicted. Walgreens CVS, Walmart offered a one year program to purchase back any unused opioids within the two counties. They claim Ohio’s public nuisance law requires that they stop the “nuisance” identified by the jury (an oversupply) and not address its other negative effects.

CVS, Walgreens and Walmart have denied the counties’ allegations and said they would appeal the November verdict.

They argued that even if they have to buy back drugs, the companies shouldn’t be required to pay for illegal drug-related costs. The companies also claimed that the five-year cost of the plan was exaggerated by the counties.

According to data from the government, more than 500 thousand Americans have died of overdoses in just two decades. There have been more than 3,300 national opioid lawsuits filed against drugmakers, distributors, and pharmacy chains. This has led to numerous settlement offers.

CVS and Walgreens have agreed to pay $1.1 billion for a settlement in an opioid case filed by Florida. This is the first time that statewide opioid settlements have been reached.

The Ohio counties’ public nuisance theory has rarely been tested at trial, and it has had mixed results in other courts.

Oklahoma’s top court on Nov. 9 overturned a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:), and a California judge in November ruled in favor of four drugmakers in a case brought by several large counties.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd was found by a New York jury. AbbVie Inc (NYSE:) Responsible for creating a public nuisance within the state. However, the amount they have to pay will be decided in a trial that takes place later in 2022.