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Huntington-Cabell opioid case up for status hearing Monday

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The next step for a significant lawsuit in connection with the opioid crisis could be learned in a status hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Charleston.

U.S. District Judge David Faber is now residing over the city of Huntington and Cabell County lawsuit versus three large drug distributors, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health.

The case has gone back and forth in federal court from West Virginia to Ohio but a Cleveland federal judge recently sent the case back to the Mountain State.

The lead plaintiff’s attorney, Paul Farrell of Huntington, has been saying for months he wants a trial against the distributors of opioids instead of a settlement.

“The origins and the fueling of this epidemic were manmade, and they were made by people who made decisions that are just unforgivable,” Farrell during an appearance last October on MetroNews “Talkline.” “I want the world to understand what they did to our hometown and what the long-term consequences are. This is not something they can run from.”

Ferrell said the number of pills sent into West Virginia is unforgivable.

“We have communicated in as blunt language as we can that they sold 10 million pills of opium into our hometown every year for 15 years,” Farrell said in that “Talkline” interview. “They broke it, and now they have to fix it.”

Faber could set a timeline for a trial during Monday’s hearing. It’s scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.





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