US Judge Rules in Favor of 3 Drug Distributors in West Virginia Opioid Lawsuit

US Judge Rules in Favor of 3 Drug Distributors in West Virginia Opioid Lawsuit
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, left, and lawyer Rusty Webb enter the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse in Charleston, W.Va., on May 3, 2021. Kenny Kemp/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va.—A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors in a landmark lawsuit that accused them of causing a health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in one West Virginia county ravaged by opioid addiction.

The verdict came nearly a year after closing arguments in a bench trial in the lawsuit filed by Cabell County and the city of Huntington against AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp.