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City of Jacksonville may sue pharmaceutical companies for 'starting' the Opioid epidemic (VIDEO)
Aug 3, 2017 | First Coast News WTLV (NBC/ABC)
By Shelby Danielsen
VIDEO LINK: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/health/city-of-jacksonville-may-sue-pharmaceutical-companies-for-starting-the-opioid-epidemic/461762198 The City of Jacksonville is looking into potential litigation with major pharmaceutical companies who it says "started" the opioid epidemic locally. The City invited a law firm to City Hall on Thursday for an Opioid Special Committee. -
Jacksonville Considers Lawsuit Against Opioid Drug Makers (AUDIO)
Aug 3, 2017 | Jacksonville Public Radio (WJCT)
By Ryan Benk
AUDIO LINK: https://cpa.ds.npr.org/wjct/audio/2017/08/w0803_OPIOID.mp3 The city of Jacksonville is considering suing prescription drug makers for deceptive marketing. -
City Councilman wants city to sue drug companies over prescription opioids
Aug 3, 2017 | The Florida Times-Union
By Christopher Hong
A Jacksonville City Councilman wants the city to hire a law firm to sue companies that make and distribute prescription painkillers, saying they are partly responsible for the spike in opioid overdose deaths in Jacksonville.
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City of Jacksonville may sue pharmaceutical companies for 'starting' the Opioid epidemic (VIDEO)
Aug 3, 2017 | First Coast News WTLV (NBC/ABC)
By Shelby Danielsen
VIDEO LINK: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/health/city-of-jacksonville-may-sue-pharmaceutical-companies-for-starting-the-opioid-epidemic/461762198
The City of Jacksonville is looking into potential litigation with major pharmaceutical companies who it says "started" the opioid epidemic locally. The City invited a law firm to City Hall on Thursday for an Opioid Special Committee.
Council members John Crescimbeni, Tommy Hazouri, Bill Gulliford and Jim Love asked questions to the Robbins, Geller, Rudman & Dowd law firm about why they would be the best fit if they were to pursue the lawsuits.
The firm gave a presentation of their past success stories.It was the sole counsel in the Enron case, which ended up in the largest class action securities settlement to this day with a total recovery amount of $7.2 billion.
The 2.5-hour meeting was emotional as council members shared their concerns and passions for bringing the lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies.
"Dadgummit I think they are responsible for the whole dog-gone thing and I think they need to pay, that’s just my personal opinion," Gulliford said. "Who started it? That’s the real issue. Who started it?"
"How do you pick the companies we go after and why?" Hazouri asked.
"We would pick the companies most culpable based on our investigation and you would have the final say," said attorney Aelish Baig.
The firm said it would incur all costs and then provide a lump sum, if it wins, to the city to be distributed as necessary.
Hazouri says if they win money, he wants to put it toward stopping human trafficking, as well as reimbursing families who have lost loved ones to opioid abuse.
The law suit, according to the firm, would involve statutory and court claims for the "false marketing and failure to report accurate data by the companies they choose to go after."
"Many of them approve drugs only intended for cancer to non-cancer patients," Baig said.
The firm is already in an agreement with the City of Delray Beach to pursue a similar lawsuit, although one has not been filed yet.
Councilman Love says the projected death toll from opioid overdose in Jacksonville is expected to reach at least 700 just for this year.
"There were 400 last year, and 200 the year before, so it’s doubling, it seems that way," Love said.
Councilman Gulliford says he has close friends who have lost loved ones to Opioid overdoses.
He says due to the magnitude of the case, it could take up to ten years, but he is ready to pick the firm and get started within the month.
Right now, the general counsel for the city is meeting with the law firm to discuss specifics before moving forward.
All four council members believe the lawsuit, which would be the first of its kind in Florida, would send a strong message that opioid abuse does not cross the First Coast's border.
They are also hoping to send a message with a pilot program they will be launching on either Sept. 1 or Oct. 1 that will allow any patient admitted to St. Vincent's for an opioid overdose to sign up to have a mentor who has recovered from opioid addiction.
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Jacksonville Considers Lawsuit Against Opioid Drug Makers (AUDIO)
Aug 3, 2017 | Jacksonville Public Radio (WJCT)
By Ryan Benk
AUDIO LINK: https://cpa.ds.npr.org/wjct/audio/2017/08/w0803_OPIOID.mp3
The city of Jacksonville is considering suing prescription drug makers for deceptive marketing.
One city councilman believes pharmaceutical companies are complicit in Northeast Florida’s opioid addiction epidemic.
Councilman Bill Gulliford said the city’s on track to see 700 opioid overdose deaths this year, with many heroin users’ initially getting hooked on prescription pills. He compared that to Jacksonville’s number of murders — around 120 last year.
“Certainly (overdoses are) eclipsing, by many multiples, the number of homicides we’ve seen,” he said.
According to health information company Castlight Health, Jacksonville ranks No. 24 among U.S. cities for the percentage of opioid prescriptions that are abused. Duval Health Department data also show the city’s among the worst in Florida for babies born addicted to opiate drugs.
At Gulliford’s invitation, attorney Aelish Baig outlined the potential lawsuit on Thursday for Jacksonville officials.
“The case would be alleging that the manufacturers engaged in deceptive marketing, that they violated Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act — which prohibits unfair methods of competition — and that the wholesalers failed to report sales as they’re required to do by federal and state law,” she said.
Her firm, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, is representing the city of Delray Beach in a similar case, and Palm Beach County is considering one too. Eventually, the cases may be combined into a class action, she said.
Council members say, if Jacksonville does eventually win against some of the companies, the money could be used to establish more treatment programs like a$1.5 million pilot approved last month.
But before city officials decide to challenge drug companies in court, the lawyers suggested the city collect more local data on how exactly they’re affected and what costs are associated with treating the epidemic.That way, it’s easier to demonstrate the city’s standing to sue.
City officials would also have to decide whether to file their complaint in state or federal court.
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City Councilman wants city to sue drug companies over prescription opioids
Aug 3, 2017 | The Florida Times-Union
By Christopher Hong
A Jacksonville City Councilman wants the city to hire a law firm to sue companies that make and distribute prescription painkillers, saying they are partly responsible for the spike in opioid overdose deaths in Jacksonville.
Councilman Bill Gulliford invited attorneys from a national law firm to give a presentation Thursday about a complaint they are preparing to file against six drug makers and two drug distributors. Councilmen Jim Love, John Crescimbeni and Tommy Hazouri also attended.
The attorneys say the companies fraudulently marketed opioids as safe treatments for a wide variety of pain conditions and were rarely addictive, which they say led to widespread use of the drug and sparked a nationwide epidemic of opioid addiction.
The attorneys said the number of opioid prescriptions quadrupled from 1999 to 2010, and that more than 560,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the same time period.
“It was a brilliant marketing scheme, but at the same time a devastating marketing scheme,” said Aelish Marie Baig, an attorney with the firm, Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd.
The City of Delray Beach has retained the firm, which wants to file suits on behalf of other municipalities. The firm hasn’t filed any complaints yet.
Attorneys told the group of councilmen they believe local governments have standing for a case because of the costs associated with opioid addiction, like increased pressure on emergency and police budgets and lost economic productivity.
City officials say they responded to 1,000 more overdose calls in 2016 than they did the year before. They expect to administer three times as much of a drug that reverses opioid overdoses this year compared to 2015.
Officials believe they’re on track to spend over $4 million on transporting overdose victims this year.
After the attorneys made their presentation, Crescimbeni said he was skeptical whether local governments had standing to file lawsuits. The attorneys said they wouldn’t publicly reveal details of their strategy but would be willing to discuss it further in a private setting.
The city would likely need approval by the full council to hire the firm to file a lawsuit. Gulliford instructed Jason Gabriel, the city’s general counsel, to speak with the law firm to learn more about the potential case and brief council members on his findings.
“I’m ready to clear the decks, load the guns and fire away. I feel like they [drug makers] are very much responsible,” Gulliford said. “I still think it’s appropriate to give serious consideration to pursuing it.”
Councilman Tommy Hazouri said he also believed drug makers were partly responsible for the problem.
“I think what we’re doing here is saying we have a serious crisis in Jacksonville and that we’re sending a strong message that we’re going to make it stop here,” he said.
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