Public Nuisance Claims to Proceed Against Pharmacies in Opioid MDL

CINCINNATI — An Ohio federal judge has allowed claims of public nuisance and civil conspiracy claims to proceed against five pharmacy defendants in the opioid multidistrict litigation, finding there is a question of fact as to whether they failed to maintain effective controls against diversion.

In opinions entered on Jan. 27, Judge Dan Polster of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio found the evidence suggests that the defendants’ suspicious order monitoring systems were either nonexistent or inadequate and that the opioid distributions caused the alleged injuries.

Walmart, HBC Service Co., Rite Aid, CVS and Discount Drug …