CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state’s trial against three opioid makers got underway Monday morning in Kanawha County Circuit Court with state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey delivering part of the state’s opening statement.
Morrisey told reporters walking into the courthouse that he looked forward getting answers from drug manufacturers Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan Finance LLC.
“We are looking forward to proving our allegations in court. This is a very important day for the State of West Virginia. It’s the first statewide opioid manufacturer trial,” Morrisey said. “We have the opportunity to tell the impact this epidemic has had on all 55 counties across our state.”
The City of Huntington and Cabell County took three large opioid distributors to court last year. That case is still awaiting a decision from U.S. District Judge David Faber. During that trial, attorneys representing distributors blamed the manufactures of the drugs for the epidemic, claiming they were just the middle man in the process.
Part of Monday’s opening statement from the state focused not only on the damage the opioids have caused, including loss of life, but also what West Virginia is left with now, where addicts have turned to heroin and then fentanyl, the plaintiffs said.
The state also alleges the type of deceptive marketing used by the manufactures helped change the standard of care when it came to the use of opioids.
“That marketing worked and they knew it worked,” plaintiff’s attorney Linda Singer, part of Morrisey’s team, told the judge Monday morning.
The drug companies will also have opening statements before Mercer County Circuit Judge Derek Swope, who is hearing the case as a bench trial.
The trial could last several weeks. Morrisey said the state could call up to 73 witnesses.
Swope is holding the trial in the ceremonial courtroom at the Kanawha County Courthouse in downtown Charleston.