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Lawyers for the plaintiffs that include Trumbull County continued their federal civil case Friday with jurors hearing expert testimony in the fifth day of the national prescription opiate litigation.
The trial is expected to continue next week with more testimony from the plaintiff's case before U.S. District Judge Daniel A. Polster at the downtown Cleveland federal courthouse.
Trial documents show that almost 60 people, including nine experts, appear on the plaintiff's witness list.
Friday, expert witness Carmen Catizone, executive director / secretary of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, returned to the stand after beginning testimony Thursday.
Earlier in the week, testimony in the federal courtroom, including that of expert witnesses Dr. Anna Lembke and CVS corporate executive Thomas Davis, summarized the action of national pharmacies such as Walmart, Walgreens and CVS and a regional pharmacies colluded with pharmaceutical companies in flooding opioid drugs throughout northeast Ohio and the rest of the country.
The trial, expected to last for six weeks, is being watched nationally as a possible template other communities may use in lawsuits against drug companies and pharmacies, court experts have said.
Trumbull and Lake counties filed the joint lawsuit over the number of prescription painkillers dispensed in the counties between 2012 and 2016. The amount equaled to 400 pills for every Trumbull County resident.
Among the main defendants are the three national pharmacy chains and regional Giant Eagle. Defendant Rite Aid settled with the plaintiffs earlier this year. That company paid Trumbull County $1.5 million. The amount paid to Lake County has not been disclosed.
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