Trumbull County, OH v. Purdue Pharma L.P. et al.

Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Date: December 8, 2022

Issue on Appeal: Whether the trial court erred in imposing joint and several liability on a limited number of retail pharmacies for the costs of abating the opioid crisis, rather than apportioning liability based on each defendant’s relative contribution.

RLC’s Position: The RLC argues that imposing joint and several liability on a small group of pharmacies for a widespread public health crisis is fundamentally unfair and inconsistent with established principles of apportionment. The brief emphasizes that where a reasonable basis exists to allocate responsibility—such as market share or volume of products distributed—courts should apportion liability accordingly. Holding a few retailers responsible for the full cost of abatement ignores the role of numerous other actors, creates disproportionate liability, and exposes retailers to extreme financial risk unrelated to their actual contribution to the alleged harm.

Other Amici: National Retail Federation.

Counsel: James A. Wilson and Danielle S. Rice, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP.