CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia's Supreme Court on Monday declined to answer a federal court's question in an appeal in a landmark lawsuit over whether the distribution of opioids can cause a public nuisance.
The 3-2 opinion returns the case to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.
It's been nearly three years since a federal judge in Charleston ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors who were accused by Cabell County and the city of Huntington of causing a public health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in the county. AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. also were accused of ignoring the signs that Cabell County was being ravaged by addiction.
U.S. District Judge David Faber in Charleston said West Virginia’s Supreme Court had only applied public nuisance law in the context of conduct that interferes with public property or resources. He said to extend the law to cover the marketing and sale of opioids “is inconsistent with the history and traditional notions of nuisance.”
Last year the appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, sent a certified question to the state Supreme Court, which states: “Under West Virginia’s common law, can conditions caused by the distribution of a controlled substance constitute a public nuisance and, if so, what are the elements of such a public nuisance claim?”
Had the state justices ruled that opioids distribution can cause a public nuisance, the case would have returned to the 4th Circuit anyway. Had the West Virginia court found that opioids can’t cause a public nuisance, the appeal would have ended, the 4th Circuit has said.
Instead, a majority of the West Virginia justices refused to get involved.
Justice Haley Bunn delivered the opinion of the West Virginia Supreme Court. Justice Beth Walker, who is retiring next month, issued a separate opinion. Chief Justice Bill Wooton was joined in a dissenting opinion by Circuit Judge Tera Salango. Salango and Circuit Judge Andrew Dimlich heard the case on temporary assignment after two other justices disqualified themselves.
Paul Farrell Jr., an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said Monday he was disappointed that the justices declined to answer the legal question.
“The fight isn’t over," Farrell said. "There’s still a long way to go. We continue on our path to seek justice.”
Farrell said the appeals court still must address a combination of factual and legal issues.
A Cardinal Health spokesperson declined to comment on Monday’s ruling. Emails seeking comment from AmerisourceBergen and McKesson weren’t immediately returned.
During arguments earlier this year before the state Supreme Court over the certified question, Steve Ruby, an attorney for the companies, called the plaintiffs’ arguments to grant the public nuisance “radical” and that, if granted, it would “create an avalanche of activist litigation.”
Thousands of state and local governments have sued over the toll of opioids. The suits relied heavily on claims that the companies created a public nuisance by failing to monitor where the powerful prescriptions were ending up. Most of the lawsuits were settled as part of a series of nationwide deals that could be worth more than $50 billion. But there wasn’t a decisive trend in the outcomes of those that have gone to trial.
The appeals court had noted that the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel, which works to resolve complex cases in state court, has concluded in several instances that opioid distribution “can form the basis of a public nuisance claim under West Virginia common law.”
In his 2022 decision, Faber also said the plaintiffs offered no evidence that the defendants distributed controlled substances to any entity that didn’t hold a proper registration from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or the state Board of Pharmacy. The defendants also had suspicious monitoring systems in place as required by the Controlled Substances Act, he said.
In 2021 in Cabell County, an Ohio River county of 93,000 residents, there were 1,059 emergency responses to suspected overdoses — significantly higher than each of the previous three years — with at least 162 deaths.
The plaintiffs had sought more than $2.5 billion that would have gone toward opioid use prevention, treatment and education over 15 years.
FILE - Signs are displayed at a tent during a health event on June 26, 2021, in Charleston, W.Va. (AP Photo/John Raby, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will continue to wait and see how the economy evolves before deciding whether to reduce its key interest rate, Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday, a stance directly at odds with President Donald Trump’s calls for immediate cuts.
“For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” Powell said in testimony Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee.
Powell is facing two days of what could be tough grilling on Capitol Hill, as Trump has repeatedly urged the Fed to reduce borrowing costs. Powell has often received a positive reception before House and Senate committees that oversee the Fed, or at least muted criticism. Powell has also often cited his support in Congress as a bulwark against Trump’s attacks.
Trump lashed out again early Tuesday, posting on his social media site: “I hope Congress really works this very dumb, hardheaded person, over. We will be paying for his incompetence for many years to come.”
Several Republicans did question Powell about why the central bank hasn't yet moved to lower borrowing costs. Powell responded that most economists, inside and outside the Fed, still expect tariffs to push inflation higher, and Fed policymakers want to see what happens over the next couple of months before making any changes.
"We really don’t know how much of that’s going to be passed through the consumer,” Powell said, referring to the duties. “We have to wait and see.”
Some Republicans also praised Powell for remaining focused on the Fed's mission to lower prices and support maximum employment. Rep. French Hill, the Arkansas Republican who chairs the committee, thanked Powell for keeping “politics out of the Fed” by disbanding several committees that focused on finance and climate change.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, asked Powell whether Trump's “bullying” would impact the Fed's decision-making.
Powell said the Fed wants to “deliver a good economy for the benefit of the American people, and that’s it.”
“Anything else is kind of a distraction," Powell added. "We always do what we think is the right thing to do, and we live with the consequences. I don’t know how else to do the job.”
Powell also told the committee that “ increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices and weigh on economic activity.”
He said the bump to inflation from tariffs could be temporary, or it could lead to a more persistent bout of inflation.
The Fed's “obligation,” Powell said, “is ... to prevent a one-time increase in the price level from becoming an ongoing inflation problem.”
The Fed’s 19-member interest rate setting committee, led by the chair, decides whether to cut or raise borrowing costs. They typically increase rates to cool the economy to fight or prevent inflation, and lower rates when the economy is weak to boost borrowing and spending.
The Fed’s committee voted unanimously last week to keep its key rate unchanged, though the Fed also released forecasts of future rate cuts that revealed emerging divisions among the policymakers. Seven projected no rate cuts at all this year, two just one, while 10 forecast at least two reductions.
Powell said Tuesday that “a significant majority” of the committee supports cutting rates later this year. But he noted that “a pretty significant minority” doesn't agree.
At a news conference last week, Powell suggested the Fed would monitor how the economy evolves over the summer in response to Trump’s tariffs and other policies before deciding whether to cut rates. His comments suggested a rate reduction wouldn’t occur until September.
Yet two high-profile members of the Fed’s governing board, Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller, have since suggested the central bank could cut its rate as early as its next meeting in July. Both officials were appointed by Trump during his first term and Waller is often mentioned as a potential replacement for Powell when his term ends next May. Powell was also appointed by Trump in late 2017.
Trump is urging the Fed to cut rates to save the U.S. government money on its interest payments affixed to the vast national debt. Yet the Fed has long resisted considering the government's financing costs when making interest rate decisions, preferring instead to focus on the health of the economy and inflation.
Waller, in a television interview Friday, said that lowering the government's borrowing costs is “not our job” and added that it was up to Congress and the White House to reduce the budget deficit.
Trump meanwhile, on social media Tuesday repeated his claim that the European Central Bank has cut its key rate ten times, while the Fed has not cut at all. In fact, in the last 12 months the ECB has reduced its rate eight times and the Fed has done so three times, all late last year.
The Fed's cuts last year lowered its rate to about 4.3%. Yet since then it has put reductions on pause out of concern that Trump’s tariffs could push up inflation. The president has slapped a 10% duty on all imports, along with an additional 30% levy on goods from China, 50% on steel and aluminum, and 25% on autos.
Yet inflation has steadily cooled this year despite widespread concerns among economists about the impact of tariffs. The consumer price index ticked up just 0.1% from April to May, the government said last week, a sign that price pressures are muted.
Prices for some goods rose last month, but the cost for many services such as air fares and hotels fell, offsetting any tariff impact. Compared with a year ago, prices rose 2.4% in May, up from 2.3% in April.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell arrives for a hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
