Pharmacies Lose In OH Case

A federal judge in Cleveland awards $650 million dollars in damages to two Ohio counties that sued CVS, Walgreens and Walmart over the way the national pharmacy chains distributed opioids to their communities.. District Judge Dan Polster said in his ruling that the money will be used to the fight the opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties outside Cleveland. Attorneys for the counties put the total price tag at $3.3 billion for the damage done. The judge admonished the three companies, saying they “squandered the opportunity to present a meaningful plan to abate the nuisance” after proceedings last spring to determine what the counties were owed. Lake County is to receive $306 million over 15 years. Trumbull County is to receive $344 million over the same period. Polster ordered the companies to immediately fork over nearly $87 million to cover the first two years of payments, but it was unclear whether they had to pay that money during their appeals.