Judge blocks Licking County effort to sue opioid distributors

NEWARK – Licking County planned to file a lawsuit against three pharmaceutical wholesale distributors of opioids, but Common Pleas Court Judge Tom Marcelain refused Tuesday to approve the use of outside counsel.

Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said the county will be unable to join with other Ohio counties in a federal lawsuit against McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health, Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. because outside counsel is essential to prosecute the case.

Judge Tom Marcelain said, "This didn't seem like a good idea to me and I'm not comfortable doing this." He declined to expound further on his decision.

The opioid epidemic has devastated families all over Licking County, as well as overwhelming the resources of law enforcement, children's services, mental health, and addiction recovery services.

The Licking County Coroner's office reports 20 confirmed drug overdose deaths this year, as of Sept. 12, in the county. At least 11 were the result of opiates or opiates combined with other drugs. There were 17 confirmed drug overdose deaths in the county in all of 2016.

Licking County Children Services, which provides foster care for abused and neglected children, seeks a new 1 mill levy for 10 years. The number of children in the county's care grew from 360 on Jan. 1, to 446 at the beginning of August. Many are victims of their parents’ drug addiction.

The approval of the administrative judge is needed for Licking County Prosecutor Bill Hayes to contract with outside counsel, Bubb said. The county, which has three civil attorneys, would not be able to take on such a case itself, Bubb said.

"We can't go forward without the signature of the judge," Bubb said. "It's a sophisticated federal lawsuit. There are 100 attorneys working on it. It's complicated and detailed and going to be a fight."

Hayes said the goal of the lawsuit is to force distributors to better regulate the drugs and help in the resolution of the opioid epidemic. Any settlement money could be used for law enforcement and treatment facilities, Hayes said.

The county commissioners approved on Tuesday resolutions declaring opioids a public epidemic and authorizing prosecution against the distributors.

"We all understand where we're as a society with the drug epidemic going on," Licking County Commissioner Duane Flowers said. "Doing this is not going to stop it, but it's something we felt was necessary to get this slowed down.

"We're not going to sit around any longer and let our families and neighbors get terrorized by this junk going around. We will put them on notice they are being watched, and we care."

Hayes met with the commissioners Tuesday, along with two attorneys, Dale Seif Jr., of Waverly, Ohio, firm Seif and McNamee, and Rusty Miller, of Wellston, Ohio, firm Oths, Heiser, Miller, Waigand and Clagg.

The Ross County Commissioners filed a lawsuit against the same pharmaceutical companies in August, joining with more than a dozen Ohio communities in the effort to combat the drug epidemic.

The Ross County lawsuit alleged the companies were negligent, involved in racketeering, and violated the Corrupt Practices Act, and that their conduct "resulted in the forseeable, widespread diversion of prescription opioids into the illicit market ... creating a serious public health and safety crisis."

Bubb compared the legal fight to another massive effort against companies contributing to a widespread addiction.

"We may never see a cent," Bubb said. "It may be like the tobacco settlement. We're trying to get some accountability here."

kmallett@newark

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