COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – An Ohio Supreme Court ruling threatens a $650 million judgment two counties won from pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart for their role in creating an opioid epidemic.
The state’s highest court ruled last week that lawsuits in Ohio cannot claim pharmaceutical chains “caused a public nuisance” by selling opioids due to a state law called the Ohio Product Liability Act. The law aims to hold manufacturers responsible for harm that arises from flaws in their products.
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Writing for the majority, Justice Joseph Deters said an amendment to act that was adopted in 2007 barred all public nuisance claims that arise from the sale of a product and seek compensation.
Deters was joined by Justices Sharon Kennedy, Patrick DeWine and Jennifer Brunner. Justices Melody Stewart and Michael Donnelly agreed with the majority in part but stated that the counties were not asking for compensatory damages but rather “equitable relief” and so the claim was not prohibited by the law.