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Opioid Litigation: Lessons Learned from a Retail Pharmacy Settlement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2023

Shannon A. Gonick
Shannon A. Gonick*
Affiliation:
Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA, USA
*
Email: gonicksa@bu.edu
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Abstract

As the opioid epidemic continues in the United States and ongoing litigation seeks to hold contributors responsible, state governments have initiated lawsuits against retail pharmacies for their role in contributing to the crisis. This article summarizes an action the State of West Virginia brought against CVS, which the parties recently settled in the fall of 2022. This article examines the unique position of retail pharmacies like CVS, which often serve as both distributors and dispensers, in contributing to the oversaturation and illicit diversion of opioid prescriptions. The article concludes by assessing the viability of potential causes of action against retail pharmacies in opioid litigation.

Keywords

OpioidslitigationsettlementWest VirginiaCVSretail pharmacies
Type
Recent case developments
Information
American Journal of Law & Medicine , Volume 48 , Issue 4 , December 2022 , pp. 472 - 480
Copyright
© 2023 The Author(s)

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References

1 Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic, Ctrs. for Disease Control and Prevention, (June 1, 2022), https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/epidemic.html [https://perma.cc/T9FE-UANP].

2 Id.

3 Rose A. Rudd et al., Increases in Drug and Opioid Overdose Deaths — United States, 2000–2014, 64 Morbidity and Mortality Wkly Rep. 1378 (2016).

4 Id.

5 Drug Overdose Deaths in the U.S. Top 100,000 Annually, Nat’l Ctr. for Health Stat., (Nov. 17, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2021/20211117.htm [https://perma.cc/8JFG-T3XG].

6 Peter C. Condron, Monty Cooper & Jessica D. Gilbert, Are Opioids a Public Nuisance? It Depends on Whom You Ask, 51 The Brief 16, 20 (2022).

7 Brian Mann, 4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis, NPR, (Feb. 25, 2022, 7:39 AM), https://www.npr.org/2022/02/25/1082901958/opioid-settlement-johnson-26-billion [https://perma.cc/5DWD-XY3K].

8 Id.

9 Id.

10 35.5 deaths per 100,000. Rudd et al., supra note 3.

11 Dietrich Knauth, CVS, Walmart reach $147.5 mln opioid settlement with West Virginia, Reuters, (Sept. 20, 2022, 5:19 PM), https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cvs-health-walmart-reach-1475-mln-opioid-settlement-with-west-virginia-attorney-2022-09-20/ [https://perma.cc/YAT7-NYK2].

12 Condron et al., supra note 6.

13 Knauth, supra note 11; Caroline MacGregor, West Virginia Reaches Landmark Settlement With ‘Big Three’ Opioid Distributors, W. Va. Pub. Broad., (Aug. 1, 2022, 8:33 PM), https://www.wvpublic.org/government/2022-08-01/west-virginia-reaches-landmark-settlement-with-big-three-opioid-distributors [https://perma.cc/9XHN-WB9Y].

14 Id.

15 Press Release, Washington State Office of the Attorney General, AG Ferguson: Half-billion dollars to fight opioid epidemic will start flowing Dec. 1 (Oct. 3, 2022), https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-half-billion-dollars-fight-opioid-epidemic-will-start-flowing-dec-1 [https://perma.cc/53ZP-KUHU]. The U.S. Census estimated Washington and West Virginia’s 2022 populations at 7,785,786 and 1,775,156, respectively. QuickFacts: Washington, U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/WA; QuickFacts: West Virginia, U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/WV [https://perma.cc/CFC2-7WW5].

16 Knauth, supra note 11.

17 The State of West Virginia also sued Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Walmart. Knauth, supra note 11.

18 Complaint, West Virginia ex rel. Morrisey v. CVS Health Corp., CC-40-2020-C-131 (W.V. Cir. Aug. 18, 2020).

19 CVS and Walmart - Payout to West VA., Am. Bar Ass’n: Health L. Section News, (Sept. 30, 2022), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/health_law/section-news/2022/september/cvs-and-walmart-payout-to-west-va/#:~:text=On%20September%2021%2C%20West%20Virginia,prescription%20drugs%2C%20fueling%20the%20epidemic [https://perma.cc/D46K-8WUM].

20 Id.

21 CVS, Walmart reach $147.5M opioid settlement with West Virginia, NBC News, (Sept. 21, 2022, 7:34 AM), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cvs-walmart-reach-1475m-opioid-settlement-west-virginia-rcna48691 [https://perma.cc/TLV8-WGYW].

22 Zoey Becker, Teva, AbbVie’s Allergan hand over $161M to settle opioid lawsuit in West Virginia, Fierce Pharma, (May 25, 2022, 11:58 AM), https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/teva-and-abbvies-allergan-settle-opioid-lawsuit-west-virginia [https://perma.cc/KF6L-TJ8L].

23 The U.S. Census estimated West Virginia’s 2022 population at 1,775,156. QuickFacts: West Virginia, U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/WV [https://perma.cc/4QUW-ZM3A].

24 These figures include federal grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources & Services Administration. Trend: Public Health Funding in West Virginia, United States, America’s Health Rankings, https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/PH_funding/state/WV [https://perma.cc/9T69-QE5X].

25 Jessica Patterson, West Virginia reaches opioid settlements of over $147M total with Walmart, CVS pharmacies, WFXR News, (Sept. 21, 2022, 7:40 AM), https://www.wfxrtv.com/news/regional-news/west-virginia-reaches-opioid-settlements-of-over-147m-total-with-walmart-cvs-pharmacies/ [https://perma.cc/T7VK-C457].

26 West Virginia First Memorandum of Understanding, Feb. 16, 2022.

27 Id.

28 Id.

29 CVS Health Corporation; CVS Pharmacy, Inc.; CVS Indiana, LLC; CVS RX Services, Inc.; and CVS TN Distribution LLC. Complaint, West Virginia ex rel. Morrisey v. CVS Health Corp., CC-40-2020-C-131 (W.V. Cir. Aug. 18, 2020).

30 W. Va. Code § 46A-6-104 (2022).

31 Complaint at 13, 18, 27, 29, West Virginia ex rel. Morrisey v. CVS Health Corp., CC-40-2020-C-131 (W.V. Cir. Aug. 18, 2020).

32 W. Va. Code § 46A-6-106 (2022).

33 See Virden v. Altria Group, Inc., 304 F. Supp. 2d 832, 850 (N.D. W. Va. 2004).

34 Id. at 29-30.

35 35 State ex rel. AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation v. Moats, 859 S.E.2d 374, 385-86 (W. Va. 2021).

36 Order Granting Motions to Transfer Cases to the Mass Litigation Panel, In re: Opioid Litig. Civil Action No. 19-C-9000, Transaction ID 66781772 (W.V. Cir. July 20, 2021).

37 Case Management Order Relating to the Pharmacy Cases, In re: Opioid Litig., Civil Action No. 21-C-9000 PHARM, Transaction ID 67073428 (W.V. Cir. Nov. 5, 2021); Second Amended Case Management Order, Civil Action No. 21-C-9000 PHARM, Transaction ID 67482006 (Apr. 15, 2022).

38 Patterson, supra note 25.

39 Order Staying Proceedings Against CVS, In re: Opioid Litig. Civil Action No. 20-C-131 PNM, Transaction ID 68113547 (W.V. Cir. Sept. 16, 2022).

40 Complaint at 20, West Virginia ex rel. Morrisey v. CVS Health Corp.,CC-40-2020-C-131 (W.V. Cir. Aug. 18, 2020).

41 Id. at 8.

42 Id. at 10.

43 Id. at 10 (citing W. Va. Code § 60A-3-303(a) (2022)).

44 Id.

45 Id. at 10.

46 Id. at 11-12.

47 21 C.F.R. § 1301.74(b).

48 Complaint at 12-13, West Virginia ex rel. Morrisey v. CVS Health Corp., CC-40-2020-C-131 (W.V. Cir. Aug. 18, 2020).

49 Id. at 12.

50 Id. at 12.

51 Id. at 14.

52 Id. at 13-17.

53 Id. at 17-18.

54 Id. at 17.

55 Id. at 14.

56 Id. at 11.

57 Id. at 19.

58 Id.

59 Id.

60 Id. at 7.

61 Id. at 20.

62 Id.

63 Id. at 21.

64 Id.

65 Id. at 22.

66 Id.

67 Id.

68 Id.

69 Id. at 23.

70 Id.

71 Id. at 24.

72 Id.

73 Id.

74 Id. at 24-25.

75 Id. at 25.

76 Id.

77 Id. at 13, 25.

78 Id. at 25.

79 Id. at 98.

80 Id. at 9.

81 Rebecca L. Haffajee, The Public Health Value of Opioid Litigation, 48 J. L. Med. and Ethics 279, 284 (2020).

82 Richard C. Ausness, A Progress Report on Opioid Litigation, 40 J. Legal Med. 429, 429-431 (2020).

83 83 Condron et al., supra note 6, at 18.

84 Id. at 23.

85 Id.

86 Brian Mann, 3 of America’s biggest pharmacy chains have been found liable for the opioid crisis, NPR, (Nov. 23, 2021, 8:23 PM), https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1058539458/a-jury-in-ohio-says-americas-big-pharmacy-chains-are-liable-for-the-opioid-epide [https://perma.cc/P7DY-8QSZ].

87 Pharmacies must pay $650.6 million to Ohio counties in opioid case, CNBC, (Aug. 17, 2022, 12:46 PM), https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/17/pharmacies-must-pay-650point6-million-to-ohio-counties-in-opioid-case.html#:~:text=The%20order%20by%20U.S.%20Judge,way%20onto%20the%20black%20market [https://perma.cc/D6GN-XPLD].

88 Condron et al., supra note 6, at 21 (citing People v. Purdue Pharma LP, No. 30-2014-00725287-CU-BT-CXC, 2021 Cal. Super. LEXIS 31743 (Cal. Super. Dec. 14, 2021)).

89 Id. at 20-21 (citing State ex rel. Hunter v. Johnson & Johnson, 499 P.3d 719 (Okla. 2021)).

90 Bailey Brautigan & Mark Curtis, Decision reached in major Huntington opioid lawsuit, WOWK 13 News, (July 4, 2022, 7:22 PM), https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/decision-reached-in-major-huntington-opioid-lawsuit/ [https://perma.cc/2MSP-FF2Z].

91 Haffajee, supra note 81, at 279-281.