MADISON - A Boone County judge plans to decide next week whether to unseal court records that include details about prescription pain pill shipments to West Virginia.
Out-of-state drug wholesalers are fighting to keep a lid on allegations contained in a state lawsuit filed against the companies.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail has asked Circuit Judge William Thompson to unseal court documents that shed light on the numbers of prescription opioids the drug distributors shipped to specific towns and regions of West Virginia.
"We think delaying getting this information out is harmful to the public," said Tim Conaway, a Madison lawyer representing the newspaper during a hearing Thursday. "The sooner this information is out the better."
In filings this week, the companies said they don't want the West Virginia pill shipment numbers getting into the hands of their competitors. The drug wholesalers are seeking to block the newspaper from intervening in the case.
Morgantown lawyer Patrick McGinley, who's also representing the Gazette-Mail, argued Thursday that the unsealing of the court documents was in the public's interest, and the companies have failed to show how they'd be harmed by the pill shipment numbers.
"The important point is none of the defendants have placed on the record anything to substantiate the bald assertion that their competitive interests would be adversely affected by the disclosure of this information," McGinley said.
Thompson said he'd rule on the matter Wednesday.
Two state agencies - the Department of Health and Human Resources, along with the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety - and the Attorney General's Office are suing the drug distributors, alleging the companies helped fuel the prescription drug problem in West Virginia by shipping an excessive number of drugs to "pill mill" pharmacies.
The case - initially filed by former Attorney General Darrell McGraw and inherited by his successor, Patrick Morrisey - has dragged on for nearly four years.
After Morrisey took office, the two sides agreed to a "protective order" in November 2013 that allows the drug wholesalers to keep some court records secret.
More than a year ago, Charleston lawyer Jim Cagle, a special assistant attorney general representing the two state agencies and Morrisey's office, filed a proposed order to unseal a revised complaint that contains allegations about the drug wholesalers' pill shipments, but Thompson hasn't ruled on the request.
In a filing earlier this month, the newspaper asserts that the public has the right to see the specific allegations in the state's lawsuit because it was filed on behalf of West Virginians. The Gazette-Mail has reported extensively on the state's prescription drug problem. West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the country.
Also Thursday:
n Thompson clarified he hasn't issued a gag order that bars either side from talking about the lawsuit. Thompson said CBS News had called him to inquire about the alleged order.
"I'm not preventing anyone from doing any type of interview ... or talking to the media," Thompson said. "There's no gag order."
n Lawyers for both sides argued over when the case should go to trial. Thompson has set an Oct. 11 trial date. The drug wholesalers want to delay a jury trial until September 2017. State lawyers want to keep this fall's trial date.
Reach Eric Eyre at
ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-4869 or follow
@ericeyre on Twitter.