Rulings pave way for September trial brought by hospitals on RICO, conspiracy claims  

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Florida state court has denied multiple motions for summary judgment sought by corporate pharmacies operated by CVS, Walgreens and Walmart against claims that the retailers violated Florida’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute by working together to illegally flood Florida communities with opioid products.

The rulings by state court judge Carol-Lisa Phillips signal that a trial involving the claims of 32 Florida hospitals against the defendants will remain scheduled to begin on Sept. 18 in Fort Lauderdale.  

The hospitals, which include Broward Health and Tampa General Hospital, allege the retailers ignored their legal responsibilities to restrict opioids that led to their pharmacies dispensing more than 2.1 billion highly addictive opioid pills in the 15 Florida counties served by the plaintiff hospitals between 2006 and 2018 – an amount representing nearly 20 pills for each county resident, including infants and children, every year.  

In the lawsuit, the hospital coalition alleges that the pharmacies conspired to participate in a nationwide enterprise to unlawfully flood the state with opioids, violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act and Florida’s RICO statute in an effort to maximize their sales and profits. The result has been widespread addiction, suffering, and loss of life in communities across Florida, with hospitals bearing the cost of care and treatment for the victims during the past two decades.  

“We are, of course, pleased with the court’s decisions,” said lead trial counsel for the hospitals, Warren Burns of Burns Charest LLP. “What the defendants did here in Florida, flooding these communities with unneeded pills by intentionally ignoring their legal responsibilities, just shocks the conscience. Their illegal pursuit of profit at the expense of public health is disheartening. We are confident a Fort Lauderdale jury is going to bring justice to Floridians and the hospitals that support them.”  

The case is North Broward Hospital District, et al. v. Richard Sackler, et al. No. 19-018882 in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County.

Burns Charest LLP is a thriving boutique litigation firm of experienced, respected attorneys with impressive records representing clients in important and high-profile cases. The firm has offices in Dallas, New Orleans, New York and Washington, D.C.  

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Barry Pound  

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