The Cabell County Commission unanimously voted Thursday to appeal the July 4 verdict, and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, who attended the meeting, stated that the city will also appeal, according to The Herald-Dispatch.
The verdict came nearly a year after Cabell County and the city of Huntington filed a lawsuit against AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc., and McKesson Corp. in a bench trial.
Cabell County attorney Paul Farrell argued that the distributors should be held accountable for releasing a "tsunami" of prescription pain pills into the community, and that the defendants' actions were unreasonable, reckless, and disregarding the public's health and safety in an area ravaged by opioid addiction.
The companies blamed an increase in doctor-written prescriptions, as well as poor communication and pill quotas imposed by federal agents.
While the distributors were accused of causing a public nuisance in the lawsuit, the judge ruled that West Virginia's Supreme Court has only applied public nuisance law in the context of conduct that interferes with public property or resources. Extending the law to include the marketing and sale of opioids, he says, "is inconsistent with the history and traditional notions of nuisance."
Commissioner Kelli Sobonya stated that the county owes it to the voters.
"We were left holding the bag with this opioid epidemic, and I feel like we need to move forward and collaborate with the city to appeal this decision," she said.
Williams applauded the vote and stated that the city would not back down.
"The fact is that in Cabell County over the last five years, over 800 people have died as a result of an overdose," he said. "As elected officials, we must hold those who targeted our community accountable." I'm devastated by the trial's outcome, but I'm more determined than ever."