Court weighs drug distributor’s insurance coverage fight

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court is deciding whether the insurance company for a drug distributor should be forced to provide a legal defense in the company’s fight against government lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic. At issue before the court is a dispute between Hamilton County-based Masters Pharmaceutical and its insurer for eight years, Wisconsin-based Acuity Insurance. Masters argues that previous court rulings have upheld the notion that insurance companies must provide a defense for businesses for plausible claims of alleged damages inflicted by a business. Acuity counters that it’s liable for coverage of injuries incurred by specific persons, not overall costs of the opioid epidemic to governments.