A federal jury on Tuesday found that pharmacy chain operators CVS Health Corp , Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Walmart Inc helped fuel an opioid epidemic in two Ohio counties, in the first trial the companies have faced over the U.S. drug crisis.
helped fuel an opioid epidemic in two Ohio counties, in the first trial the companies have faced over the U.S. drug crisis.
The verdict has the potential to give state and local governments new leverage in their efforts to negotiate settlements that would resolve thousands of other cases against the pharmacy operators."The judgment today against Walmart, Walgreens and CVS represents the overdue reckoning for their complicity in creating a public nuisance," the plaintiffs' lawyers said in a joint statement.
The counties' lawyers have said the costs are potentially $1 billion for each county. A trial on the issue is expected next year. CVS, Walgreens and Walmart said they would appeal the verdict, arguing it ran contrary to the facts and that it misapplied public nuisance law to hold them liable under a novel legal theory that courts in California and Oklahoma have recently rejected in similar cases against drugmakers.