The first jury to weigh in on the opioid crisis found three pharmacy chains liable Tuesday for addiction and drug abuse that has ravaged two Ohio counties, determining the retailers recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain killers.

Federal jurors in Cleveland found CVS, Walmart and Walgreens liable for public nuisance claims that seek abatement funds to pay for addiction treatment and other resources. Damages have not yet been determined. The trial judge, U.S. District Senior Judge Dan Polster of the Northern District of Ohio, will decide that during later hearings.

Mark Lanier of The Lanier Law Firm and Peter Weinberger of Spangenberg Shibley & Liber speak at a Zoom press conference about the jury verdict in the Ohio opioids trial.

In a Zoom press conference after the verdict, lead trial counsel Mark Lanier said he plans to ask for $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion for the counties, though he didn't specify which. 

"Should the judge find in favor of those numbers or whatever numbers he assigns, I'd love to say that the money will be disbursed and the problem will be abated and we will see thriving communities overnight. But regrettably, that won't be the case," Lanier said. "We expect that the companies will appeal these decisions; that they will appeal them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And that's a process that can take years."

Lanier's co counsel, Peter Weinberger of Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP, said the damages phase is to begin in early April or early May, with Polster setting aside nine trial days to hear evidence.

"We have health economists, we have epidemiologists, we have people who have come into Lake and Turnbull counties and evaluated what it is in terms of programs that are necessary to provide treatment for addiction alternative medical treatment, education to the communities, help with foster care help with judicial system.

Weinberger said they know the numbers sound large, but they know they need long-term funding for a long-term solution.

"This is not just something that you throw money at today or for the next six months or for a year," Weinberger said.

Tuesday's verdict follows a bench trial in Orange County, California, that ended with a tentative defense verdict, and it comes on the heels of the Oklahoma Supreme Court tossing a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson over public nuisance claims brought by the state's attorney general.