Preview Newsletter
Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report 10/3/17
-
New Britain To Sue Opioid Manufacturers
Oct 3, 2017 | Hartford Courant
By Don Stacom
Joining a growing list of Connecticut communities, New Britain announced Monday that it will sue pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors over the opioid crisis. -
New Britain to sue opioid makers
Oct 2, 2017 | Hartford Business (CT)
By Matt Pilon
The city of New Britain announced Monday that it plans to sue opioid manufacturers and distributors to recoup the addiction costs the city says it has borne in its social services and public safety budgets. -
Hazleton officials may go after drugmakers
Oct 3, 2017 | Standard Speaker
By Sam Galski
The city of Hazleton is not immune to the region’s opiate crisis, community leaders say. -
asdfasdf
|
-
Holding Big Pharma Accountable for Opioid Crisis
Oct 3, 2017 | The Examiner News
By Pat Casey
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), every day more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. -
Why Are So Many New York Counties Suing Big Pharma Over The Opioid Crisis? (AUDIO)
Oct 3, 2017 | WSKG (New York Public Radio)
By Laura Rosbrow
Audio Link: http://wskgnews.org/post/why-are-so-many-new-york-counties-suing-big-pharma-over-opioid-crisis#stream/0 Back in the ‘90s, states sued big tobacco to pay for the costs of caring for smokers. Now, New York state counties, including Broome, are trying to sue big pharma over the opioid crisis. And Tompkins County is weighing whether it wants in. -
Drug lawsuits comparable to tobacco
Oct 2, 2017 | Daily Journal (IL)
By Jeff Bonty
The opioid epidemic is the 21st century version of tobacco, according to a lawyer involved in filing Kankakee County's lawsuit against 13 pharmaceutical companies and three doctors. -
Washington state, Seattle file opioid lawsuits against drugmakers
Oct 2, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review
By Brian Zimmerman
The attorneys general for Seattle and Washington state filed separate lawsuits against drugmakers Sept. 28 for the companies' alleged roles in the facilitating the opioid epidemic. -
Big Pharma Wants Opioid-Epidemic Class Claims Tossed
Oct 2, 2017 | Law360
By Emily Field
Drug companies including Endo, Johnson & Johnson and Purdue urged an Arkansas federal judge to throw out a proposed class action alleging they fed the opioid epidemic for money, saying Friday that the suit targets activities regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Traditional Media Coverage
Broadcast Media Coverage
-
New Britain To Sue Opioid Manufacturers
Oct 3, 2017 | Hartford Courant
By Don Stacom
Joining a growing list of Connecticut communities, New Britain announced Monday that it will sue pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors over the opioid crisis.
There were 35 opioid-related deaths in New Britain last year, the fifth highest in the state.
“Over the last several years, opiates have had a devastating impact on the lives of individuals, their families, and other loved ones right here in our community,” Mayor Erin Stewart said. “These drugs have been abused beyond their original intended use and their misuse has turned into an epidemic affecting all walks of life.”
New Britain isn’t specifying which companies it will sue. The corporation counsel’s office said the actual suit will be filed within several weeks.
Nationally, lawsuits from scores of communities, counties and states have named various major drug manufacturers and distributors, alleging they engaged in deceptive marketing that promoted sales of high-strength painkillers while deliberately understating their addictive potential.
Manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, have consistently denied any wrongdoing. Purdue Parma notes its products are approved by the Federal Drug Administration.
New Britain has hired Colchester-based Scott & Scott LLP on a contingency basis, meaning the firm will charge no fees but will collect a substantial part of any settlement. Just last month, the city of Paterson, N.J., retained the same firm for an opioid lawsuit on the same terms.
The state medical examiner reports 917 people in Connecticut died from drug overdoses in 2016, up 25 percent from just a year earlier. In the city, emergency responders have recorded an 81 percent increase in their administration of Narcan for opioid overdoses between May of 2014 and April of 2017.
Stewart said the city wants to recoup the costs that opioid addiction has put on its human services and public safety budgets.
“Our ambulance crews respond to this crisis nearly every day,” said Bruce Baxter, head of New Britain Emergency Medical Services.
“The abuse of opiates is the serial killer of our time,” Police Chief James Wardwell said. “I have served this city for nearly 24 years and have never seen so much death caused by any other single source.”
-
New Britain to sue opioid makers
Oct 2, 2017 | Hartford Business (CT)
By Matt Pilon
The city of New Britain announced Monday that it plans to sue opioid manufacturers and distributors to recoup the addiction costs the city says it has borne in its social services and public safety budgets.
Officials didn't say when the city would file the lawsuit, nor did it identify the defendants. But the promised filing would follow a similar Aug. 30 complaint by Waterbury officials against Stamford-based Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma and multiple other companies, according to the Fairfield County Business Journal.
As many as two dozen Connecticut communities have indicated they may sue opioid manufacturers, the Hartford Courant reported.
New Britain said Monday it has retained Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law to represent the city. The firm will only receive attorney fees if the litigation is won or settled, officials said.
"Over the last several years, opiates have had a devastating impact on the lives of individuals, their families, and other loved ones right here in our community," Mayor Erin Stewart said in a statement. "These drugs have been abused beyond their original intended use and their misuse has turned into an epidemic affecting all walks of life."
-
Hazleton officials may go after drugmakers
Oct 3, 2017 | Standard Speaker
By Sam Galski
The city of Hazleton is not immune to the region’s opiate crisis, community leaders say.
It may join a growing number of states, counties and municipalities that have sued prescription opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors to recoup costs related to the epidemic.
Mayor Jeff Cusat said the city has been meeting with law firms and should have a proposal in hand at some point this month for moving forward with legal action.
Hazleton would likely file suit along with other Luzerne County municipalities, but the venture would be independent of legal action undertaken by Luzerne County officials, Cusat said.
“It would be done with municipalities within a county,” Cusat said Monday. “This would be separate from the county. The county has its own expenses that go along with this. The cities and municipalities have their own expenses.”
Costs and other statistical data would be gathered if the city proceeds, Cusat said.
Administrators in Hazleton have been considering legal action for several months and have listened to a pitch made by at least one law firm that is interested in moving forward, Cusat said.
Council President Jack Mundie said he has been in touch with Luzerne County Manager David Pedri about steps the county has taken so far.
Mundie said that while city council could be ready to act at a council meeting later today, Cusat believes later October or early November would be a more realistic time frame.
“So far we met with one company that is doing lawsuits,” Cusat said. “I think to put it on (the agenda) this week without getting more presentations is premature. We want to make sure we can get an agreement with the right company. We want to get (more) proposals so we’re not just jumping in.”
Legal action would come at no cost to city taxpayers, as Cusat said that all legal fees would be paid contingent upon an award.
Based on information he received, Cusat said that Hazleton would join with other Luzerne County municipalities, which would make for a stronger case.
“It’s important to protect the public and taxpayers against the costs we’re burdened with because of the opioid epidemic and the cost that goes along with it,” he said.
In early September, the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office reported handling more than 90 confirmed fatal drug overdoses since the start of the year.
Police Chief Jerry Speziale said the epidemic has taken a “tremendous” toll in terms of public safety and costs incurred by emergency responders.
Speziale referenced statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when making his case.
“In 2015, more than 25,000 people in the United States died from overdosing on fentanyl, oxycodone and hydrocodone — they kill more people in America than homicide and we’re now approaching killing more than traffic accidents,” Speziale said.
Thefts, burglaries and violent crimes are often the result of opioid dependency, he said.
“When you look at the pharmaceutical companies, they spend millions on promotional activities and materials that trivialize the risks of opioids, I think we have to be in front of the curve and work with the rest of the people doing this,” Speziale said of the lawsuits. “People are losing their lives. The cost to us is tremendous.”
-
|
-
Holding Big Pharma Accountable for Opioid Crisis
Oct 3, 2017 | The Examiner News
By Pat Casey
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), every day more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids.
“The misuse of and addiction to opioids, including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare,” the NIDA website claims. As well, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total economic burden of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.
Programs in communities across Westchester have sought to educate the population about the effects of prolonged and illegal prescription drug use and to alleviate the pain and suffering of those caught in the trap of addiction. Even President Donald Trump has been quoted saying that the opioid crisis is a “national emergency.”
At last week’s meeting of the Westchester Board of Legislators, Legislator MaryJane Shimsky’s (D-Hastings-on-Hudson) bill to begin legal proceedings alleging Big Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis, was passed unanimously with a resoundingly positive vote by all members of the BOL.
The legislation authorizes Westchester to join counties all over the country in legal proceedings holding pharmaceutical companies allegedly responsible for the opioid crisis accountable.
The proceedings, which are moving forward in eight New York counties – Dutchess, Rockland, Ulster, Nassau, Suffolk, Broome, Erie, and Orange – allege that unethical marketing practices by large pharmaceutical companies are linked to the over prescribing of and addiction to prescription painkillers, as well as the heroin addiction that ensues when patients can no longer obtain or afford the pills. If successful, these proceedings could potentially put Westchester in line to receive much needed funding.
“Westchester County alone lost 334 victims to opioid overdoses from 2010-2015,” said Shimsky after the vote. “Nearly every person I encounter when discussing the epidemic in our backyard shares a story of a loved one they have lost, or that is fighting opioid addiction. All too often, addiction begins with the prescription of painkillers for ailments, which in the past might have been prescribed over the counter medication. To attack this extremely destructive epidemic, we need to use every tool in our proverbial toolbox, and this is just one step. I am proud to stand with my colleagues to hold those responsible accountable.”
“Opioid abuse brings massive financial costs to Westchester County. While the money we spend dealing with opioid abuse is nothing in comparison to the human cost, those funds are partially recoverable if Westchester joins the many other counties across New York State in this lawsuit. Being good stewards of taxpayer dollars doesn’t just mean finding ways to save, it also means availing ourselves of additional revenue opportunities to help defray expenses. The proceeds from this lawsuit will go a long way in our fight against the opioid addiction epidemic,” said Legislator Sheila Marcotte (R-Eastchester).
Further research from the NIDA indicates that in the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. This subsequently led to widespread diversion and misuse of these medications before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive. Opioid overdose rates began to increase. In 2015, more than 33,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose.
That same year, an estimated 2 million people in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and 591,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder (not mutually exclusive).
The NIDA website says, “Roughly 21% to 29% of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them. Between 8% and 12% develop an opioid use disorder. An estimated 4% to 6% percent who misuse prescription opioids transition to heroin. About 80% of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.”
-
Why Are So Many New York Counties Suing Big Pharma Over The Opioid Crisis? (AUDIO)
Oct 3, 2017 | WSKG (New York Public Radio)
By Laura Rosbrow
Audio Link: http://wskgnews.org/post/why-are-so-many-new-york-counties-suing-big-pharma-over-opioid-crisis#stream/0
Back in the ‘90s, states sued big tobacco to pay for the costs of caring for smokers. Now, New York state counties, including Broome, are trying to sue big pharma over the opioid crisis. And Tompkins County is weighing whether it wants in.
It’s pretty attractive. It’s free for the counties because their lawyers just get a cut of the winnings.
But, Tompkins County must decide if it’s worth the time and manpower to provide information for a county lawsuit — or just join a potential statewide suit.
After a day in felony drug court, Todd Livingston stood on the front steps of the Tompkins County Courthouse in Ithaca. He’s a defense lawyer and said half the cases in the court are opioid-related. Some have died from overdoses.
He told us, “I can’t give you an accurate number. But enough, that it’s bothersome. Maybe it’s one of those things I don’t really want to think about.”
According to the state health department, sixteen people died from opioid overdoses in Tompkins County in 2016. That’s significantly more than the previous year and above the state average, which puts a strain on county health services and jails.
So some counties are trying to recoup the costs by suing big pharma. They are taking a page from the largest class action lawsuit in U.S. history, when states sued big tobacco in the ‘90s. The states won and the counties hoped they could get a cut of it too.
On a recent visit to Paul Hanly’s office in Midtown Manhattan, he told us that didn’t happen. He is a partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy and has successfully sued pharmaceutical companies before.
Hanly explained, “The counties all assumed that since the cigarette addiction, lung cancer problems were affecting people in their counties, that in the event of a recovery by the state, the money recovered would flow down to the counties. That proved to be completely false.”
State governments hung on to the money and used a lot of it to fill budget gaps instead of related issues, like smoking cessation programs.
Hanly thinks Broome and other counties will get more money suing Big Pharma on their own. So, he is representing them in the lawsuit. His firm handles the largest number of county-based suits: They represent around 20% of all counties in New York state.
But why not sue all the people responsible for the opioid epidemic? Why not also sue the doctors who prescribed addictive medications, or the FDA, which approved the bogus warning labels of drugs like OxyContin?
In short, big pharma also fooled these groups.
Hanly responded, “The medical community at large was duped, and therefore the medical community at large are allied with the interests of our clients, who also were duped into believing that it was appropriate, for example, for state county Medicaid programs to spend money on these drugs, and for physicians to be administering them.”
Of course, Hanly has a financial interest in this.
But Professor Howard Erichson agrees with him. Erichson’s a legal scholar from Fordham University.He also said if New York state decides to sue big pharma, it isn’t a big deal. New York’s attorney general is among 40 others who are considering suing big pharma too. But, according to Erichson, counties won’t lose out.
Erichson asserted, “The state is one public entity and counties and cities are separate public entities and each of them spends money and each one may have a separate claim against these defendants for the money that it claims ought to be recouped from the pharmaceutical companies.”
For example, in Tompkins County, state money mostly goes to treatment programs. But county money largely funds jails and the felony drug treatment court.
The county’s budgeted close to one million dollars for their alternatives to incarceration programs, including the drug court. If the county does join the lawsuit and they win, that money would likely go toward this court.
Tompkins County Legislature will vote this fall on whether justice will be served — both literally and financially — by joining a county-based suit.
-
Drug lawsuits comparable to tobacco
Oct 2, 2017 | Daily Journal (IL)
By Jeff Bonty
The opioid epidemic is the 21st century version of tobacco, according to a lawyer involved in filing Kankakee County's lawsuit against 13 pharmaceutical companies and three doctors.
"It is very similar," said Paul J. Hanly Jr., of Simmons Hanly Conroy, the national law firm that filed the suit in Kankakee County last week.
"There was disinformation that tobacco did not cause cancer dating all the way back to the 1920s," he said. "But it was argued it did cause cancer and COPD and other ailments."
Hanly said most physicians are not to blame.
"They were relying on false data provided them by these pharmaceutical companies," he said.
Their studies showed there was a low incidence of becoming addicted.
"It's just amazing that someone facing an orthopedic, nonsurgical procedure or a patient needing a dental procedure would need a 30-day supply of OxyContin," Hanly said.
Kankakee is at least the third county in Illinois to sue the makers of opioids, including OxyContin and hydrocodone. Jersey and St. Clair counties filed earlier this year.
Simmons Hanly Conroy has filed similar lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York and Louisiana.
The county is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
State's Attorney Jim Rowe said the lawsuit comes at no cost to the taxpayers.
"It is purely on a contingent basis," he said.
This civil suit will not get in the way of "any criminal prosecutions going forward or clog up the docket," Rowe said.
According to a release from Simmons Hanly Conroy, the defendants' conduct also caused the county to incur substantial economic, administrative and social costs relating to opioid addiction and abuse.
Rowe estimates the county has spent more than $1 million between combined law enforcement expenses, Narcan, prosecutions and the incarcerating heroin dealers pending trial.
"It is a nebulous number," county board chairman Andy Wheeler said.
"I would have to go case by case through the courts, the autopsies, probation, health department, investigations, incarcerations, etc. It's more than people realize."
Wheeler said officials are starting the process to quantify.
Rowe said members of the community have told him they are happy the suit was filed.
"They have seen the ravages of this on our communities and the impact it has on the quality of life," he said.
-
Washington state, Seattle file opioid lawsuits against drugmakers
Oct 2, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review
By Brian Zimmerman
The attorneys general for Seattle and Washington state filed separate lawsuits against drugmakers Sept. 28 for the companies' alleged roles in the facilitating the opioid epidemic.
Seattle's lawsuit names Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Endo Pharmaceuticals, alleging the drug companies used groups such as American Pain Foundation and American Academy of Pain Medicine to "spread false and deceptive statements about the risks and benefits of opioids."
"Through this lawsuit, I hope to recoup for the public and the city departments that have had to spend more of their limited resources on mitigating the harm caused by the opioid crisis," said Pete Holmes, Seattle's attorney general, during a joint press conference with Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
The state lawsuit names only Purdue Pharma and accuses the company of engaging in deceptive marketing tactics to promote the overprescribing of its opioid OxyContin.
"Purdue Pharma ignored the devastating consequences of its opioids and profited from its massive deception," Mr. Ferguson said. "It's time they are held accountable and pay for the devastation they caused."
Purdue Pharma said it is deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and is committed to being a part of the solution.
"As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to [Food and Drug Administration]-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge," the drugmaker said in an emailed statement to Becker's. "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."
In Washington, prescription opioids and heroin have jointly killed an average of 700 people a year since 2006, according to The Seattle Times.
-
Big Pharma Wants Opioid-Epidemic Class Claims Tossed
Oct 2, 2017 | Law360
By Emily Field
Drug companies including Endo, Johnson & Johnson and Purdue urged an Arkansas federal judge to throw out a proposed class action alleging they fed the opioid epidemic for money, saying Friday that the suit targets activities regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The companies said in a joint motion to dismiss that Michael Ray Lewis’ suit, which claims that they pushed doctors to prescribe opioids while downplaying the issue of addiction, must be dismissed because their marketing of FDA-approved drugs is regulated by that agency and therefore falls under the “safe harbor” provision of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
“This court recently held that the ADTPA’s safe harbor provision precludes claims based on allegedly false or misleading marketing of products regulated by FDA,” the companies noted.
Furthermore, Lewis does not claim that he received an improper prescription for any opioid medication or that his doctor was misled by any of the defendants, the companies said.
“Nor does he allege that he paid for any opioid medication or treatment for addiction,” the companies said. “Nevertheless, plaintiff seeks to recover alleged damages and obtain 'medical monitoring' on behalf of two sweeping classes of individuals in Arkansas who were prescribed opioid medications.”
The main companies named in Lewis’ complaint are Actavis Inc. unit Watson Pharma Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Purdue Pharma LP; and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. unit Cephalon Inc.
These same companies are facing investigation by several state attorneys general, with some states, counties and cities, including Ohio, New York’s Suffolk County and Chicago already suing the drugmakers.
Lewis is an Arkansas resident who became addicted to opioids after being prescribed painkillers including oxycodone, Percocet and hydrocodone starting in 2005. He was treated for his addiction.
The companies also said Friday that Lewis’ claims are too late, as the longest possible statute of limitations would be five years and he did not file his suit until 12 years after he started taking opioids.
Lewis is seeking to represent two statewide classes: one seeking damages for opioid users who were prescribed one of the companies’ opioids and received medical attention for an overdose or addiction; and a medical monitoring class of every person who was prescribed a defendant’s opioid medication for any reason during a five-year period.
But the companies said Friday that the proposed classes lack cohesion and present individual issues that preclude certification.“It is obvious from the face of the complaint that neither class can be certified under controlling precedent,” the companies said. “Courts have repeatedly rejected putative consumer and medical monitoring classes of patients who received opioid medications.”
Lewis’ July complaint alleges that the drug companies financed their own direct marketing then paid for independent marketers, which either hid or understated the addiction risks tied to these drugs.
In 2014 the companies being sued together spent at least $14 million advertising opioids in medical journals and more than $160 million directly educating physicians about opioids, Lewis says.
The companies also paid influential doctors to act as consultants on the firms' advisory boards. Other doctors seeing their peers approve of opioid use furthered the idea that they were safe, the complaint states.
A representative for Teva declined to comment.
"We recognize opioid abuse is a serious public health issue that must be addressed. At the same time, we firmly believe the allegations in these lawsuits are both legally and factually unfounded," a spokesman for Janssen told Law360 on Monday. "Janssen has acted responsibly and in the best interests of patients and physicians with regard to these medicines, which are FDA-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about possible risks on every product label."
Representatives for the other parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
The users are represented by Thomas P. Thrash and Marcus Neil Bozeman of Thrash Law Firm PA and Kenneth R. Shemin of Shemin Law Firm PLLC.
Purdue is represented by Lyn P. Pruitt and Adria W. Conklin of Mitchell Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard PLLC and Sheila L. Birnbaum, Mark S. Cheffo and Hayden A. Coleman of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. Endo is represented by Jess Askew III and Jeff Fletcher of Kutak Rock LLP and Ingo Sprie of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP Teva, Actavis and Cephalon are represented by David Donovan of Watts Donovan & Tilley PA and Steven Reed and Brian M. Ercole of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP. Allergan Finance LLC is represented by Steven W. Quattlebaum, E.B. Chiles IV, Brandon B. Cate and Lindsey C. Pesek of Quattlebaum Grooms & Tull PLLC. Johnson & Johnson and Janssen are represented by Martin A. Kasten and James M. Simpson of Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP and Charles C. Lifland, Stephen D. Brody and Jennifer D. Cardelus of O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
The case is Lewis v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., ca
Traditional Media Coverage
Broadcast Media Coverage
Add recipients
Suggested