Ohio Supreme Court Rules on Opioid Judgment Against Pharmacies

By Nate Raymond and Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) – On Tuesday, Ohio's top court ruled that CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens cannot be held liable for contributing to the opioid epidemic in Lake and Trumbull counties, which had previously won a $650.9 million judgment against the pharmacy chains.

The Ohio Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, determined that state law prevented the counties from claiming that the dispensing of addictive medications constituted a public nuisance requiring remediation by the companies. Justice Joseph Deters stated that while the epidemic has profoundly affected many lives in Ohio, addressing it is beyond the court's scope.

According to the ruling, an amendment to the Ohio Products Liability Act passed in 2007 prohibits common-law public nuisance claims related to product sales seeking compensation from manufacturers or suppliers.

Neither the pharmacy chains nor the counties provided immediate comments following the ruling.

This case marks the first trial for the three pharmacy operators amid numerous lawsuits against drug manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies regarding the opioid crisis. In 2021, a federal jury found that an oversupply of addictive pain pills and their diversion contributed to a public nuisance in the counties, implicating the pharmacies in the issue.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster ordered the pharmacies to pay the $650.9 million sum to help combat the epidemic's effects, leading to their appeal and the subsequent involvement of the Ohio Supreme Court to clarify state law.