On Thursday, February 7, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to close two pharmacies accused of unlawfully dispensing opioids resulting in patient overdoses and deaths.  The TRO was issued at the start of a civil action brought for violations of the Controlled Substances Act without advance notice to the pharmacies.  This opens up an avenue for the DOJ to temporarily shut down pharmacies evidencing distribution of controlled substances outside the normal course of the professional practice of pharmacy without going through the lengthy and difficult administrative process of suspending or removing the pharmacy’s registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration.   

The request for a TRO was filed under seal concurrently with a sealed civil complaint brought by the federal government against defendants Dale Hollow Pharmacy, Xpress Pharmacy and their owner/operator and pharmacists-in-charge (U.S. v. Oakley Pharmacy, Inc., et al., U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, Case No. 2:19-cv-0009).  The complaint alleges that the pharmacists-in-charge at both pharmacies repeatedly ignored indicia of abuse in filling prescriptions for controlled substances without legitimate medical purpose, leading to multiple incidences of overdose including two incidences leading to patient deaths.  The complaint seeks injunctive relief and monetary penalties for violations of the Controlled Substances Act and False Claims Act. 

That same day, District Judge Aleta A. Trauger granted the government’s request for a TRO without the need for advance notice to defendant pharmacies, finding in part that if defendants were aware of the action and pending search warrants, there was risk that evidence would be destroyed.  The Court ordered that the TRO could be served on defendants on the same date when the agency executed search warrants at the two defendant pharmacies.  

Further hearing on this matter is set for February 21, 2019, to determine whether a preliminary injunction should be issued continuing the shutdown of the two defendant pharmacies.

A copy of the complaint is available here.  A copy of the order granting the TRO is available here.