Paul T. Farrell Jr., an attorney representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit against three major U.S. drug distributors, speaks to reporters Wednesday, July 28, 2021, outside the federal courthouse in Charleston. Attorneys finished giving closing arguments in the case brought by Cabell County and the city of Huntington accusing AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson of creating a public nuisance by distributing 81 million pills over eight years.
John Raby | The Associated Press
Attorney Paul Farrell Jr. speaks July 28 after the conclusion of the federal opioid trial. | Brittany Hively
CHARLESTON – Attorneys for Cardinal Health and McKesson presented closing arguments in hope of convincing U.S. District Judge David Faber the distribution companies should not be held liable for any part in the opioid epidemic.
Faber is overseeing the bellwether federal bench trial where the City of Huntington and Cabell County filed suit against three pharmaceutical distribution companies – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson – in 2017 seeking to hold the companies accountable for their alleged part in the opioid epidemic by sending more than 540,000 opioids each month to independent and chain pharmacies – excluding hospitals and/or hospital pharmacies – located in Cabell County.