{"id":22903,"date":"2024-12-13T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T07:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=804635"},"modified":"2024-12-13T07:00:58","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T07:00:58","slug":"public-nuisance-claims-denied-by-ohio-supreme-court-in-opioid-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2024\/12\/13\/public-nuisance-claims-denied-by-ohio-supreme-court-in-opioid-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Nuisance Claims Denied by Ohio Supreme Court in Opioid Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-default-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/midwest\/2024\/12\/13\/804635.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/midwest\/2024\/12\/13\/804635.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) \u2014 The Ohio Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.ohio.gov\/rod\/docs\/pdf\/0\/2024\/2024-ohio-5744.pdf\">ruled last Tuesday<\/a> that the state\u2019s product liability law prohibits counties from bringing public nuisance claims against national pharmaceutical chains as they did as part of national opioid litigation, a decision that could overturn a against the pharmacies.<\/p>\n<p>An attorney for the counties called the decision \u201cdevastating.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"claims\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>Justices were largely unanimous in their interpretation of an arcane disagreement over the state law, which had emerged in a lawsuit brought by Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland against CVS, Walgreens and Walmart.<\/p>\n<p>The counties won their initial lawsuit \u2014 and were awarded $650 million in damages by a federal judge in 2022 \u2014 but the pharmacies had disputed the court\u2019s reading of the Ohio Product Liability Act, which they said protected them from such sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>In an opinion written by Justice Joseph Deters, the court found that Ohio state lawmakers intended the law to prevent \u201call common law product liability causes of action\u201d \u2014 even if they don\u2019t seek compensatory damages but merely \u201cequitable relief\u201d for the communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe plain language of the OPLA abrogates product-liability claims, including product-related public-nuisance claims seeking equitable relief,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe are constrained to interpret the statute as written, not according to our own personal policy preferences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two of the Republican-dominated court\u2019s Democratic justices disagreed on that one point, while concurring on the rest of the judgment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny award to abate a public nuisance like the opioid epidemic would certainly be substantial in size and scope, given that the claimed nuisance is both long-lasting and widespread,\u201d Justice Melody Stewart wrote in an opinion joined by Justice Michael Donnelly. \u201cBut just because an abatement award is of substantial size and scope does not mean it transforms it into a compensatory-damages award.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"claims\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>In a statement, the plaintiffs\u2019 co-liaison counsel in the national opioid litigation, Peter Weinberger, of the Cleveland-based law firm Spangenberg Shibley &amp; Liber, lamented the decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis ruling will have a devastating impact on communities and their ability to police corporate misconduct,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have used public nuisance claims across the country to obtain nearly $60 billion in opioid settlements, including nearly $1 billion in Ohio alone, and the Ohio Supreme Court\u2019s ruling undermines the very legal basis that drove this result.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Weinberger said Tuesday\u2019s ruling would not be the end, and that communities would continue to fight \u201cthrough other legal avenues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe remain steadfast in our commitment to holding all responsible parties to account as this litigation continues nationwide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>In his 2022 ruling, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said that the money awarded to Lake and Trumbull counties would be used to fight the opioid crisis. Attorneys at the time put the total price tag at $3.3 billion for the damage done.<\/p>\n<p>Lake County was to receive $306 million over 15 years. Trumbull County was to receive $344 million over the same period. Nearly $87 million was to be paid immediately to cover the first two years of payments.<\/p>\n<p>A jury <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-health-ohio-medication-opioids-d778b97c0eb409aa0d53dcfd9e4f2ad0\">returned a verdict<\/a> in favor of the counties in November 2021, after a six-week trial. It was then left to the judge to decide how much the counties should receive. He heard <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-health-ohio-cleveland-opioids-400dec30a0fa7934220dc89a4e2f9df2\">testimony the next May<\/a> to determine damages.<\/p>\n<p>The counties convinced the jury that the pharmacies played an outsized role in creating a public nuisance in the way they dispensed pain medication. It was the first time pharmacy companies completed a trial to defend themselves in a drug crisis that has killed a half-million Americans since 1999.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>Corrects a previous version that said the judge awarded money to Trump County, rather than Trumbull County.<\/p>\n<div class=\"copyright-notice lite\">Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/claims\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Claims<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/location\/ohio\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Ohio<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"804635\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! 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