THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

EASTERN DIVISION AT COLUMBUS

CITY OF CINCINNATI, 

Plaintiff,

v. CASE NO. 2:17-cv-713

Judge Edmund A. Sargus

AMERISOURCEBERGEN DRUG CORPORATION,

CARDINAL HEALTH, INC., and

McKESSON CORPORATION,

Defendants.

PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF INTENT TO SERVE SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM

UPON UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION

COMES NOW the Plaintiff, CITY OF CINCINNATI, by counsel, and hereby files its

notice1of the intent to serve a subpoena duces tecum upon the United States Department of Justice 

to produce data from the Automated Records and Consolidated Orders System/Diversion 

Analysis and Detection System (ARCOS/DADS) (69 FR 51104-02). 

1. On October 2, 2017, Plaintiff issued a Touhy letter to the United States Department 

of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to produce the ARCOS/DADS 

database. See Exhibit 1. The DOJ responded on October 11, 2017 as follows:

Given the Court’s determination that discovery at this point is premature, your 

demand to access the entirety of the data in ARCOS is “not appropriate under the 

rules of procedure governing the case...in which the demand arose.” 28 C.F.R. § 

16.26(a)(1). Accordingly, the DEA refuses your demand for ARCOS data and does 

not consent to your request to appear at the next status conference.

 

1

“If a subpoena commands the production of documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things or the 

inspection of premises before trial, then before it is served, a notice must be served on each party.” F.R. Civ. Proc. 

45(a)(4). 

Case: 2:17-cv-00713-EAS-EPD Doc #: 81 Filed: 10/31/17 Page: 1 of 3 PAGEID #: 593
See Correspondence from Mark T. D’Allessandro, U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant United 

States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, dated October 11, 2017 and attached hereto as 

Exhibit 2.

2. On October 30, 2017, the United States District Court for the Southern District of 

Ohio, Chief Judge Edmund Sargus presiding, entered an Order authorizing Plaintiff to issue a 

subpoena duces tecum upon the DEA to produce the ARCOS/DADS database. The Court directed 

as follows:

The DEA will be told do not disclose any information before December 13th, so

there's still no discovery between now and December 13th. If the DEA is going to 

object, they will do so in a timely fashion, and then -- I don't want to rush anybody, 

but I would say within 14 days, any party -- that would be the plaintiffs or the 

defendants -- may file a memorandum in opposition, and DEA will have seven days 

thereafter for a final reply.

So there will be nothing exchanged before December 13th, but, again, it's with the 

idea of teeing this up, and I also emphasize this is going to be an issue that's going 

to be presented to some judge somewhere someday. So this is not all going to be 

for not if the case doesn't end up staying here.

See Exhibit 3. 

3. The DOJ, on behalf of the DEA, has agreed to electronically accept service of 

process of the attached subpoena duces tecum which was effectuated on October 31, 2017. See 

Exhibit 4. 

4. The DEA is commanded to respond by filing a pleading with regard to its position 

on disclosure on or before November 15, 2017. The parties are directed to file responses thereto 

on or before November 30, 2017, and the DEA is directed to reply thereto by December 8, 2017. 

5. A status conference is for December 13, 2017 at 10:30 am wherein the Court will 

provide further directives.

Case: 2:17-cv-00713-EAS-EPD Doc #: 81 Filed: 10/31/17 Page: 2 of 3 PAGEID #: 594
Date: October 31, 2017 /s/ Paul T. Farrell, Jr., Esq. 

Paul T. Farrell, Jr. (Ohio Bar No. 0070257) 

GREENE, KETCHUM, FARRELL,

 BAILEY & TWEEL, LLP

419 - 11th Street (25701)/ P.O. Box 2389

Huntington, West Virginia 25724-2389

Phone: 800.479.0053 or 304.525.9115

Fax: 304.529.3284

Email: paul@greeneketchum.com

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on the 31st day of October, 2017, I electronically filed the foregoing 

PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF INTENT TO SERVE SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM UPON 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DRUG ENFORCEMENT 

ADMINISTRATION using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to 

CM/ECF participants. A copy of this Notice along with the exhibits and subpoena was served 

electronically upon Mark T. D’Allessandro, U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant United States 

Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio as counsel for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

/s/ Paul T. Farrell, Jr.

Paul T. Farrell, Jr. (Ohio Bar No. 0070257)

GREENE, KETCHUM, FARRELL,

 BAILEY &TWEEL, LLP

419 - 11th Street (25701)/ P.O. Box 2389

Huntington, West Virginia 25724-2389

Tel.: 800-479-0053 or 304-525-9115

Fax: 304-529-3284

paul@greeneketchum.com

Case: 2:17-cv-00713-EAS-EPD Doc #: 81 Filed: 10/31/17 Page: 3 of 3 PAGEID #: 595