[10] The German manufacturer of two of the drugs, Fresenius Kabi, sued the state of Nebraska and sought a restraining order to halt the execution, because EU law prohibits German companies from supplying pharmaceuticals that are used for capital punishment, which is regarded as a grave violation of international human rights law in Germany and other European countries, and because the manufacturer asserted that Nebraska authorities had acquired the drugs by fraud and in violation of the distribution contract which expressly prohibits sale, resale or distribution to American prisons.

The lawsuit was part of a wider backlash against American prisons for using drugs obtained from European manufacturers in violation of the laws of their countries of origin.

[12] Fresenius Kabi only sells the products in question with a legally binding clause that they may not be sold, resold or distributed to prisons or used in executions.

Fresenius Kabi asserted that the drugs "could only have been obtained by defendants in contradiction and contravention of the distribution contracts the company has in place and therefore through improper or illegal means" and said the execution would cause reputational damage.

[17] The Fresenius and Alvogen lawsuits, which took place at the same time, were widely compared by commentators; both lawsuits are part of a trend whereby it has become increasingly difficult for United States authorities to legally buy drugs for the use in executions, due to widespread adoption of distribution contracts by pharmaceutical companies banning distribution to prisons and use in executions.

Especially European pharmaceutical companies have pushed back against violations of the distribution contracts in the United States prohibiting straw buying by prisons for capital punishment.