Nate Raymond

(Reuters) – Monday’s closing arguments will be heard by a jury in a federal trial in Cleveland. The case centers on two Ohio counties that claim three large retail pharmacies – CVS Walgreens, Walgreens, and Walmart – fuelled the U.S. Opioid epidemic by failing stop addicting painkillers from getting to the black market.

This will be the culmination of a lawsuit brought by Lake and Trumbull County against CVS Health Corp (NYSE :), Walgreens boots Alliance (NASDAQ 🙂 Inc and Walmart Inc. They are alleged to have been responsible for the devastating effects of the epidemic on those areas.

These counties accuse companies of creating an “public nuisance”, and they seek to make the company pay the costs to stop the spread of the disease. According to the plaintiff attorneys, these costs can reach $1 billion each for each county.

The pharmacy operator’s trial represents the first in a series of lawsuits brought by state and local governments against them. They are being held responsible for an opioid overdose epidemic which has claimed nearly 500,000 lives.

They accused pharmacies of not preventing excessive opioid pill flooding in their areas, identifying “red flags”, and properly training pharmacists on how to avoid drug abuse.

They have denied any wrongdoing, and said that the responsibility lies with others such as doctors and regulators.

If the jury finds that pharmacies caused a nuisance to the public, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster will decide the amount they owe.

Regional pharmacy operator Giant Eagle, originally named as a defendant in the lawsuit, reached a settlement https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pharmacy-chain-operator-giant-eagle-settles-ohio-opioid-lawsuits-mid-trial-2021-10-29/#:~:text=(Reuters)%20-Regional%20pharmacy%20chain,three%20larger%20rivals%20to%20trial with the counties during the trial. No financial terms were disclosed.

Following recent setbacks in the pursuit of some 3,300 cases against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies related to opioids (including Ohio), this Ohio trial will be held.

Oklahoma’s top court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million judgment https://www.reuters.com/business/oklahoma-court-overturns-465-million-opioid-award-against-johnson-johnson-2021-11-09 against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:), and a California judge this month ruled in favor of four drugmakers in a case brought by several large counties.

These lawsuits accused companies of creating an environmental nuisance. Three drug distributors from Washington are facing a similar lawsuit.