Public Nuisance Claims Denied By Ohio Supreme Court In Opioid Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court ruled past Tuesday that nan state’s merchandise liability rule prohibits counties from bringing nationalist nuisance claims against nationalist pharmaceutical chains arsenic they did arsenic portion of nationalist opioid litigation, a determination that could overturn a against nan pharmacies.

An lawyer for nan counties called nan determination “devastating.”

Justices were mostly unanimous successful their mentation of an arcane disagreement complete nan authorities law, which had emerged successful a suit brought by Lake and Trumbull counties extracurricular Cleveland against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart.

The counties won their first suit — and were awarded $650 cardinal successful damages by a national judge successful 2022 — but nan pharmacies had disputed nan court’s reference of nan Ohio Product Liability Act, which they said protected them from specified sanctions.

In an sentiment written by Justice Joseph Deters, nan tribunal recovered that Ohio authorities lawmakers intended nan rule to forestall “all communal rule merchandise liability causes of action” — moreover if they don’t activity compensatory damages but simply “equitable relief” for nan communities.

“The plain connection of nan OPLA abrogates product-liability claims, including product-related public-nuisance claims seeking equitable relief,” he wrote. “We are constrained to construe nan statute arsenic written, not according to our ain individual argumentation preferences.”

Two of nan Republican-dominated court’s Democratic justices disagreed connected that 1 point, while concurring connected nan remainder of nan judgment.

“Any grant to abate a nationalist nuisance for illustration nan opioid pandemic would surely beryllium important successful size and scope, fixed that nan claimed nuisance is some long-lasting and widespread,” Justice Melody Stewart wrote successful an sentiment joined by Justice Michael Donnelly. “But conscionable because an abatement grant is of important size and scope does not mean it transforms it into a compensatory-damages award.”

In a statement, nan plaintiffs’ co-liaison counsel successful nan nationalist opioid litigation, Peter Weinberger, of nan Cleveland-based rule patient Spangenberg Shibley & Liber, lamented nan decision.

“This ruling will person a devastating effect connected communities and their expertise to constabulary firm misconduct,” he said. “We person utilized nationalist nuisance claims crossed nan state to get astir $60 cardinal successful opioid settlements, including astir $1 cardinal successful Ohio alone, and nan Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling undermines nan very ineligible ground that drove this result.”

But Weinberger said Tuesday’s ruling would not beryllium nan end, and that communities would proceed to conflict “through different ineligible avenues.”

“We stay patient successful our committedness to holding each responsible parties to relationship arsenic this litigation continues nationwide,” he said.

In his 2022 ruling, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said that nan money awarded to Lake and Trumbull counties would beryllium utilized to conflict nan opioid crisis. Attorneys astatine nan clip put nan full value tag astatine $3.3 cardinal for nan harm done.

Lake County was to person $306 cardinal complete 15 years. Trumbull County was to person $344 cardinal complete nan aforesaid period. Nearly $87 cardinal was to beryllium paid instantly to screen nan first 2 years of payments.

A assemblage returned a verdict successful favour of nan counties successful November 2021, aft a six-week trial. It was past near to nan judge to determine really overmuch nan counties should receive. He heard testimony nan adjacent May to find damages.

The counties convinced nan assemblage that nan pharmacies played an outsized domiciled successful creating a nationalist nuisance successful nan measurement they dispensed symptom medication. It was nan first clip drugstore companies completed a proceedings to take sides themselves successful a supplier situation that has killed a half-million Americans since 1999.

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Corrects a erstwhile type that said nan judge awarded money to Trump County, alternatively than Trumbull County.

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Topics Claims Ohio