A Boone County judge has issued an order to unseal court records that out-of-state drug companies have sought to keep secret for more than a year.
The court records disclose allegations about the number of prescription painkillers the companies have shipped to West Virginia pharmacies in specific towns and regions of the state.
Circuit Judge William "Will" Thompson's order follows a Charleston Gazette-Mail request to open court filings in a state lawsuit against 11 of the nation's largest prescription drug distributors.
"The court finds that there exists a longstanding right of public and press access to legal proceedings and documents," Thompson wrote in his order filed Friday.
The drug wholesale companies argued that the complaint includes "confidential business and sensitive sales data" that must be shielded from the public and kept out of their competitors' hands - including their co-defendants in the ongoing lawsuit.
Thompson concluded Friday that the wholesalers' business interests in keeping the court records sealed did not outweigh the public's right to see the court filings. The judge also found that the lawsuit doesn't include information about the distributors' prescription drug sales prices or profits.
"The complaint has, at best, only speculative value to competitors ..." Thompson wrote in his order.
Thompson gave the prescription drug distributors 14 days to appeal the order to the state Supreme Court.
Also Friday, the judge ruled that the companies could keep their pill shipment numbers under wraps, if they agree to settle the state's lawsuit against them within the next two weeks.
In February, Miami-based drug wholesaler Miami-Luken reached a $2.5 million settlement with state. The lawsuit's allegations against that company will remain sealed, according to Thompson's order.
The lawsuit - filed by former Attorney General Darrell McGraw in 2012 and inherited by his predecessor, Patrick Morrisey - alleges that the drug wholesalers helped fuel West Virginia's prescription drug problem by shipping an excessive number of painkillers to pharmacies across the state. The state's Department of Health and Human Resources and Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety have since joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.
Morrisey recused himself from the case in January, following a state Lawyer Disciplinary Board investigation into his past ties to the drug companies. Before taking office, Morrisey lobbied for a Washington, D.C., trade group - the Health Care Distribution Management Association - that represents most of the drug wholesalers named in the state's lawsuit.
The disciplinary board concluded that Morrisey did not violate any lawyer ethics rules, but the board suggested he step aside from the drug company suit to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Morrisey assigned the case to Chief Operating Officer Anthony Martin and Deputy Attorney General Vaughn Sizemore.
After Morrisey took office in 2013, the drug companies and the Attorney General's Office agreed to a "protective order" to keep some court records under seal.
Charleston lawyer Jim Cagle, a special assistant attorney general representing the two state agencies and Morrisey's office, filed a motion to unseal the complaint in January 2015, but Thompson denied the state's motion in September. Earlier this year, the judge issued an order that set up procedures for handling confidential information in the case.
On March 4, the state re-filed a motion to unseal the court documents.
The Gazette-Mail filed a motion to intervene in the case last month, saying the unsealing of the court records is a matter of "substantial public interest" to West Virginians.
Thompson ruled Friday that the newspaper's motion to intervene was moot because of his order to unseal the lawsuit. The companies named in the lawsuit are: AmerisourceBergen; J.M. Smith Corp.; The Harvard Drug Group; Anda Inc.; Associated Pharmacies; H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug; Keysource Medical; Masters Pharmaceuticals; Quest Pharmaceuticals; Richie Pharmacal; and Top Rx.
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.