Associated Press Published

Companies Ask Boone Judget to Keep Suit's Pill Records Sealed

pills

Eleven pharmaceutical drug distributors have asked a judge to deny the state’s request to unseal a court filing containing information about their shipments to West Virginia pharmacies.

The companies are being sued in Boone County Circuit Court by the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. The lawsuit alleges that the companies shipped excessive amounts of prescription painkillers to southern West Virginia pharmacies.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the companies asked the judge last week to keep the drug shipment information sealed. They say the information is confidential.

The state argues that the records are in the public’s interest.

The records are contained in a revision of the lawsuit, which originally was filed in 2012 by former Attorney General Darrell McGraw.