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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 11/15/17

Indianapolis, IN Suit

Indianapolis suing several opioid makers (UPDATED)
Nov 15, 2017 | Associated Press
By Staff

The city of Indianapolis sued several manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers in federal court Tuesday, alleging that their actions are to blame for the city’s growing opioid crisis.
Indianapolis files federal lawsuit against opioid distributors, manufacturers amid crisis (UPDATE)
Nov 14, 2017 | RTV6 (IN)
By Victoria T. Davis

The City of Indianapolis filed a federal lawsuit against several opioid distributors and manufacturers Tuesday as the state continues to fight a drug overdose crisis.
City of Indianapolis files lawsuit against opioid makers
Nov 14, 2017 | WISHTV (IN)
By Staff

The city of Indianapolis has gone through with its plans in taking action against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
City files suit against drug manufacturers over opioid epidemic
Nov 14, 2017 | Indianapolis Business Journal (IN)
By Hayleigh Colombo

The city of Indianapolis on Tuesday filed its previously announced federal lawsuit against drug manufacturers, blaming them for exacerbating “a dramatic increase in the use of prescription opioid pain medications” by using deceptive marketing tactics and through their “failure to identify, report, and stop suspicious orders of those medications.”
Indianapolis suing several opioid makers and distributors
Nov 14, 2017 | Indianapolis Star (IN)
By Staff

The city of Indianapolis sued several manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers in federal court Tuesday, alleging that their actions are to blame for the city’s growing opioid crisis.
Indianapolis files federal lawsuit against drug manufacturers
Nov 14, 2017 | WNDU (IN)
By Staff

A federal lawsuit filed by Indianapolis claims Purdue Pharma, Teva and Janssen misled "consumers and medical providers" about the risks of their painkillers.
Indianapolis files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors amid ongoing crisis
Nov 14, 2017 | CBS 4 (IN)
By Staff

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett formally filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against nearly a dozen opioid manufacturers on behalf of the City of Indianapolis.
Indianapolis sues drug companies for opioid crisis
Nov 15, 2017 | The Indiana Lawyer (IN)
By Olivia Covington

The city of Indianapolis is making good on its promise to sue some of the country’s largest opioid manufacturers and distributors and is seeking compensation for their role in the worsening opioid crisis that is “ravaging” the city.

Buncombe County, NC Suit

'They're robbing us of citizens': Buncombe County sues top opioid sellers
Nov 15, 2017 | Asheville Citizen Times (NC)
By Jennifer Bowman

Buncombe County has filed a federal lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry's largest manufacturers and distributors that officials say are responsible for fueling the local opioid epidemic.
North Carolina county files lawsuit against drug companies; attorney general speaks out
Nov 14, 2017 | Fox Carolina (NC)
By Shale Remien

It's hard to believe something so small could cause so much damage. "The opioid crisis is wreaking havoc on our state," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said.
Buncombe files federal lawsuit against drug companies
Nov 14, 2017 | Carolina Public Press
By Michael Gebelin

Buncombe County commissioners have filed a federal lawsuit accusing opioid drug manufacturers and distributors of deliberately creating a public health epidemic in order to increase profits.
Buncombe commissioners join fight against opioid distributors
Nov 14, 2017 | WLOS (NC)
By Frank Kracher

Buncombe County Commissioners have announced their plans to join the fight against opioid distributors.

Other Litigation Coverage

Salt Lake County to sue drugmakers over opioid epidemic
Nov 14, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review
By Brian Zimmerman

Salt Lake County officials on Monday shared plans to file suit against multiple drugmakers for their alleged roles in Utah's opioid epidemic.
Salt Lake City Seeks ‘Damages For The Harm’ Caused By Big Pharma’s Painkillers
Nov 14, 2017 | The Daily Caller
By Steve Birr

Officials are joining forces to sue pharmaceutical companies in Salt Lake City over the opioid crisis in an effort to “change the outrageous behavior that is harming families” in Utah.
Utah County Plans To Sue Opioid Makers, Joining SLCo
Nov 15, 2017 | Utah Public Radio
By Bob Nelson

The Utah County Commission passed a resolution Tuesday to pursue legal action against the manufacturers of opioids. They’re now the second county in the state to do so this week.
Utah County joins movement to pursue legal action against opioid distributors
Nov 14, 2017 | Daily Herald (UT)
By Katie England

By the end of the year, Utah County will take action to pursue legal action against drug manufacturers and distributors of opioids, according to a resolution the Utah County Commission passed Tuesday.
Dodge County joins Federal lawsuit to prosecute opioid manufacturers
Nov 14, 2017 | The Daily Citizen (WI)
By Terri Pederson

Dodge County voted Tuesday to join more than two dozen other counties in the state in pursuing opioid manufacturers and distributors in federal court.
Waushara County to Join Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers
Nov 15, 2017 | Waushara Argus (WI)
By Staff

Waushara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the resolution to join 28 other Wisconsin counties that have filed separate federal lawsuits alleging that large pharmaceutical companies are responsible for the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Marinette County joins lawsuit against drugmakers over opioid crisis
Nov 14, 2017 | NBC 26 (WI)
By Matt Jarchow & Maris DeCandido

As the opioid epidemic rages on across the country, another Wisconsin county has decided to join a lawsuit against drugmakers accused of contributing to the problem.
Nueces County pursuing legal action against opioid makers
Nov 14, 2017 | Corpus Christi Caller Times (TX)
By John C. Moritz

Nueces County on Tuesday hired two law firms to proceed with litigation against several top pharmaceutical companies on grounds that they are irresponsibly pressuring physicians to prescribe highly addictive medication to patients.
City sues drug giants
Nov 14, 2017 | Yale Daily News (CT)
By Christina Carrfiell

City Hall filed a lawsuit on Nov. 7 against Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, alleging that they are contributing to the opioid crisis in New Haven.
Nueces County joining lawsuit against opioid drug producers
Nov 14, 2017 | KIIITV (TX)
By Rudy Trevino

Nueces County Commissioners voted Tuesday to hire two law firms to represent taxpayers in a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies that produce highly addictive opioid drugs.
Jasper County panel mulls opioid lawsuit
Nov 14, 2017 | The Joplin Globe (MO)
By Koby Levin

Jasper County commissioners are weighing a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their alleged contribution to a rise in drug addiction and overdoses.
County considers joining lawsuit against opioid industry
Nov 15, 2017 | Forsyth Herald (GA)
By Kathleen Sturgeon

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners is considering teaming up with other municipalities to join a lawsuit in the fight against opioids.
Forsyth County may join opioid suits
Nov 14, 2017 | AJC (GA)
By Mark Woolsey

Forsyth County officials will study the possibility of becoming part of an expected wave of lawwsuits targeting the pharmaceutical industry over the manufacture and distribution of opioids.
Santa Fe County to sue opioid makers, distributors
Nov 14, 2017 | Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
By Tripp Stelnicki

Santa Fe County will become the latest government agency to sue manufacturers and distributors of opioids as policymakers in cities, counties and states across the nation seek to recover damages from the drugmakers they say have unleashed a costly epidemic of narcotic painkiller addiction.
SF County moves toward suit against opioid makers
Nov 14, 2017 | Albuquerque Journal (NM)
By T.S. Last

The Santa Fe County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution that calls for the county to join other local and state governments in taking legal action against the manufacturers and distributors of drugs that have contributed to the nation’s opiate epidemic.
County may join suit against opioid makers
Nov 14, 2017 | Tuscon News Now (AZ)
By Bud Foster

Pima County has been asked by two law firms if it would like to join in a nationwide lawsuit against opioid makers and distributors.
Harris County 'weeks' away from filing opioid lawsuit against major pharma cos.
Nov 14, 2017 | Houston Business Journal (TX)
By Jack Witthaus

The damages awarded to the county could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
St. Louis County Opens Door for Opioid Lawsuit
Nov 14, 2017 | WDIO (MN)
By Baihly Warfield

The St. Louis County Board paved the way Tuesday for the county attorney to sue several manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids.
St. Louis County to File Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers
Nov 14, 2017 | Fox 21 (MN)
By Staff

The St. Louis County Board unanimously passed a resolution today to start litigation against pharmaceutical opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Lucas County commissioners hire attorneys to explore joining opioid lawsuits
Nov 14, 2017 | The Toledo Blade (OH)
By Mark Reiter

Lucas County officials gave the go-ahead Tuesday to possibly pursue legal action against opioid manufactures for reimbursement of costs incurred while dealing with the ongoing drug crisis.
County joins opioid lawsuit
Nov 14, 2017 | The Ledger Independent (KY)
By Mary Ann Kearns

Mason County Commissioners agreed Tuesday to join a lawsuit that aims to hold opioid manufacturers financially responsible for the costs associated with the current drug epidemic.
Jax moves closer to opioid lawsuit; lawyers to be chosen in December
Nov 14, 2017 | Florida Politics
By A.G. Gancarski

The opioid overdose epidemic continues in Jacksonville, and a Jacksonville City Council Special Committee is still addressing the matter.
Panama City filing lawsuit against manufacturers of prescription opioids
Nov 14, 2017 | WJHG (FL)
By Riliegh McHugh

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released data stating Bay County and Washington County rank among the highest in the state when it comes to prescribing opioid drugs.
Vernon to participate in potential opioid crisis litigation
Nov 14, 2017 | American Press (LA)
By Pamela Sleezer

The Vernon Parish Police Jury approved a motion Monday to participate in potential litigation regarding the local impact of the nationwide opioid addiction crisis.

Commentary and FYIs

County judge denies pharmaceutical companies' request in opioid case
Nov 15, 2017 | The Norman Transcript (OH)
By Jacob McGuire

A Cleveland County judge ruled that several major pharmaceutical companies will have to start producing documents and answering written questions from the state in connection with a class action lawsuit Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed in June.
44 state attorneys general want repeal of law that curbed DEA powers
Nov 14, 2017 | The Washington Post
By Lenny Bernstein and Scott Higham

Forty-four state attorneys general asked Congress on Tuesday to repeal a law that effectively strips the Drug Enforcement Administration of potent weapons against large drug companies that have allowed hundreds of millions of pain pills to spill onto the black market.
Shelby County mayor wins control of opioid lawsuit
Nov 14, 2017 | Commercial Appeal (TN)
By Ryan Poe

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell said he could make sweeping changes to an opioid lawsuit after wresting control of it from the County Commission on Tuesday in Chancery Court.
Council caught off guard by county plan to sue drug companies
Nov 15, 2017 | Deseret News (UT)
By Katie McKellar

While supportive of Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams' announcement that the county will be suing pharmaceutical companies for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic, some County Council members didn't like being caught off guard.
Herring: Hold drug manufacturers, distributors accountable for opioid oversupply
Nov 15, 2017 | Augusta Free Press (VA)
By Staff

In an effort to hold drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for the oversupply of opioid pain killers, Attorney General Mark Herring sent a letter late yesterday to congressional leaders, urging them to repeal the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016.
Council caught ‘flatfooted’ by McAdams’ plan to sue drug companies over the opioid crisis
Nov 15, 2017 | The Salt Lake Tribune
By Jenifer Dobson

Salt Lake County Council members made two things clear Tuesday: they support the mayor’s decision to go after pharmaceutical companies over the opioid crisis, but they don’t much like how he decided to do it.

Broadcast Media Coverage

WRTV News: The News at Noon
Nov 14, 2017 | WRTV (ABC)
By Indianapolis, IN

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30691619?token=568a9743-5ef7-4358-87f2-f711ca66a579
NewsCenter 16 at 11
Nov 15, 2017 | WNDU (NBC)
By South Bend, IN

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30691622?token=568a9743-5ef7-4358-87f2-f711ca66a579

Indianapolis, IN Suit

Indianapolis suing several opioid makers (UPDATED)

Nov 15, 2017 | Associated Press

By Staff

The city of Indianapolis sued several manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers in federal court Tuesday, alleging that their actions are to blame for the city’s growing opioid crisis.
The lawsuit contends that the “dramatic increase” in painkiller use in Indianapolis was caused by the companies’ deceptive marketing and their “failure to identify, report and stop suspicious orders” of opioids. It also alleges the companies misled consumers and medical providers about the risks of painkillers.
Indianapolis’ suit adds it to the growing list of states and government entities suing pharmaceutical companies over opioid addiction and abuse.
The complaint contends that the companies are driving addiction that last year killed 345 Marion County residents who succumbed to overdoses, The Indianapolis Star reported .
It seeks damages and reimbursement for past and future costs associated with responding to the opioid crisis, and alleges that the companies’ conduct is forcing Marion County and Indianapolis to spend millions of dollars every year to help those afflicted by addiction.
Because of the high risk of addiction to opioids such as OxyContin, they should be used only for short-term needs after surgery or trauma and end-of-life care, the suit says, arguing that the companies did not market them as such and thereby created a false sense of safety for the products.
Purdue Pharma, Teva, Janssen, Endo, Allergan, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health are among the named defendants on the lawsuit.
Several companies previously denied any wrongdoing in written statements following Mayor Joe Hogsett’s October announcement that the city had hired a law firm to pursue legal action against opioid makers and distributors.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution,” Purdue Pharma said at that time. “We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”

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Indianapolis files federal lawsuit against opioid distributors, manufacturers amid crisis (UPDATE)

Nov 14, 2017 | RTV6 (IN)

By Victoria T. Davis

The City of Indianapolis filed a federal lawsuit against several opioid distributors and manufacturers Tuesday as the state continues to fight a drug overdose crisis.
The 171-page lawsuit for Marion County by Cohen & Malad, LLP targets 10 companies including Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Cephalon and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. It claims the companies were deceptive on how they marketed the drugs’ use, risk and safety.

Three distributors included in the lawsuit, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health and McKesson Corporation, were said to have failed to report suspicious orders of opioids that ended up in Indianapolis.

The lawsuit comes just more than a month after Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced plans to go after opioid manufacturers and distributors.
“Last winter, we set Indianapolis on a course to comprehensively reform our criminal justice system,” said Hogsett. “Throughout that process, we heard first-hand accounts of the devastation opioid abuse can wreck as it tears apart families and take the lives of Indianapolis residents. We must do all we can to combat this epidemic of addiction while holding those accountable who have contributed to this crisis and caused such a prolific drain on tax payer dollars.”

The city wants all manufacturers and distributors to pay for the financial burden the crisis has caused.
“It’s time for the companies that profited to the tune of billions of dollars off opioids be held accountable for the severe harm they’ve caused Indianapolis and Marion County,” said Irwin Levin, managing partner of Cohen & Malad, LLP.

Statistics show Marion County had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in its history at 345 in 2016. The county has also led the state in pharmacy robberies.
"In 2014, nearly 200 infants were born in Marion County with neonatal abstinence syndrome (“NAS”), a group of problems that occur in newborns exposed to opioids in the mother’s womb," according to the lawsuit.

Not only is Indiana facing an overdose issue, in late October, President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 64,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016.

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City of Indianapolis files lawsuit against opioid makers

Nov 14, 2017 | WISHTV (IN)

By Staff

The city of Indianapolis has gone through with its plans in taking action against opioid manufacturers and distributors.
The lawsuit was officially filed Tuesday.
Among the many defendants listed were Purdue Pharma, the McKesson Corporation, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Cephalon.
It was filed since the city ranks high in the nation in overdose deaths — with 345 overdoses in Marion County alone in 2016.
The city accused the companies of being motivated by money, saying three of the distributors make up nearly 90 percent of the opioid market, raking in more than $100 billion last year alone.

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City files suit against drug manufacturers over opioid epidemic

Nov 14, 2017 | Indianapolis Business Journal (IN)

By Hayleigh Colombo

The city of Indianapolis on Tuesday filed its previously announced federal lawsuit against drug manufacturers, blaming them for exacerbating “a dramatic increase in the use of prescription opioid pain medications” by using deceptive marketing tactics and through their “failure to identify, report, and stop suspicious orders of those medications.”
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana, names two dozen entities, including Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma LP—which produces OxyContin—as well as Cephalon Inc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Purdue Pharma, a private company not affiliated with Purdue University, is facing dozens of similar lawsuits from cities, counties and states.
The suit didn't specify an amount the city would seek in damages. The city announced plans for the suit on Oct. 5.
In the filing prepared by law firm of Cohen & Malad LLP, the city said it brought the action to “eliminate the hazard to public health and safety caused by the opioid epidemic.”
"Opioids provide effective treatment for short-term post-surgical and trauma- related pain, and for palliative end-of-life care,” according to the complaint. "Manufacturer Defendants, however, have manufactured, promoted, and marketed opioids for the management of other forms of pain by misleading consumers and medical providers through misrepresentations or omissions regarding the appropriate uses, risks, and safety of opioids.”
The complaint alleges that the defendants “knew that, with prolonged use, the effectiveness of opioids wanes, requiring increases in doses to achieve pain relief and increasing the risk of significant side effects and addiction.”
It also says the increase in opioid use “has been extremely harmful to Indianapolis and Marion County.”
"As a direct and foreseeable consequence of Defendants’ wrongful conduct, Plaintiffs spent millions of dollars each year in efforts to combat the opioid epidemic created by Defendants’ conduct,” according to the filing. "Plaintiffs have incurred and continue to incur costs related to opioid addiction and abuse, including, but not limited to, health care costs, criminal justice and victimization costs, social costs, lost productivity, and lost revenue."
In the suit, the city demands a jury trial, and asks that relief in the case be made in the form of compensation to the city "for past and future costs to abate the ongoing public nuisance caused by the opioid epidemic."
It also asks the drug companies to fund an "abatement fund" for purposes of abating the nuisance, and fund costs for providing medical care, additional therapeutic and prescription drug purchases, and other treatments for patients suffering from opioid-related addiction or disease.
In announcing the suit last month, Mayor Joe Hogsett said opioid addiction took the lives of 345 Marion County residents last year, more than four times the number of traffic-related deaths.
In 2014, Indiana ranked 15th in the nation for the number of deaths due to drug overdose, and Marion County led the state with the highest number of deaths due to drug overdose as well as non-fatal emergency department visits, the city said.
As of Oct. 2, Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services had administered overdose medication naloxone 1,670 times in 2017, on pace to surpass last year’s record-high number of administrations, according to city figures.
Indianapolis is joining a recent landslide of government entities filing similar lawsuits.

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Indianapolis suing several opioid makers and distributors

Nov 14, 2017 | Indianapolis Star (IN)

By Staff

The city of Indianapolis sued several manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers in federal court Tuesday, alleging that their actions are to blame for the city’s growing opioid crisis.
The lawsuit contends that the “dramatic increase” in painkiller use in Indianapolis was caused by the companies’ deceptive marketing and their “failure to identify, report and stop suspicious orders” of opioids. It also alleges the companies misled consumers and medical providers about the risks of painkillers.
Indianapolis’ suit adds it to the growing list of states and government entities suing pharmaceutical companies over opioid addiction and abuse.
The complaint contends that the companies are driving addiction that last year killed 345 Marion County residents who succumbed to overdoses, The Indianapolis Star reported .
It seeks damages and reimbursement for past and future costs associated with responding to the opioid crisis, and alleges that the companies’ conduct is forcing Marion County and Indianapolis to spend millions of dollars every year to help those afflicted by addiction.
Because of the high risk of addiction to opioids such as OxyContin, they should be used only for short-term needs after surgery or trauma and end-of-life care, the suit says, arguing that the companies did not market them as such and thereby created a false sense of safety for the products.
Purdue Pharma, Teva, Janssen, Endo, Allergan, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health are among the named defendants on the lawsuit.
Several companies previously denied any wrongdoing in written statements following Mayor Joe Hogsett’s October announcement that the city had hired a law firm to pursue legal action against opioid makers and distributors.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution,” Purdue Pharma said at that time. “We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”

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Indianapolis files federal lawsuit against drug manufacturers

Nov 14, 2017 | WNDU (IN)

By Staff

A federal lawsuit filed by Indianapolis claims Purdue Pharma, Teva and Janssen misled "consumers and medical providers" about the risks of their painkillers.
The suit alleges the companies actions have forced Indianapolis and the surrounding county to spend millions of dollars each year to help those afflicted by addiction.
The city's lawsuit says they saw a dramatic increase in prescription painkiller use that was directly caused by the companies' deceptive marketing and failure to identify, report and stop suspicious orders of opioids.

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Indianapolis files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors amid ongoing crisis

Nov 14, 2017 | CBS 4 (IN)

By Staff

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett formally filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against nearly a dozen opioid manufacturers on behalf of the City of Indianapolis.
The lawsuit claims the companies are to blamefor Indy’s growing opioid crisis, and failed to “identify, report and stop suspicious orders of medications.”
The drug manufacturers are also accused of deceptively marketing uses and risks of opioids.
The City says there were 345 drug overdoses in Marion County last year and points to the county’s high number of pharmacy robberies.
The full 171-page document can be found here. The suit aims to recover funds to address the overwhelming financial burden that the opioid crisis has placed on the city and county, according to Hogsett.
The manufacturer defendants are Purdue Pharma, Cephalon, Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco, Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt PLC, Allergan PLC, and Watson Pharmaceuticals. The lawsuit alleges these manufacturers deceptively marketed the appropriate uses, risks, and safety of opioids.
The opioid distributor defendants are AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., and McKesson Corporation.
The City says the defendants’ actions “resulted in hundreds of deaths, hundreds of babies born dependent on opioids, and a dramatic increase in the law enforcement, legal and social services that Marion County and Indianapolis provides for its residents.
“Last winter, we set Indianapolis on a course to comprehensively reform our criminal justice system,” said Mayor Hogsett. “Throughout that process, we heard first-hand accounts of the devastation opioid abuse can wreck as it tears apart families and take the lives of Indianapolis residents. We must do all we can to combat this epidemic of addiction while holding those accountable who have contributed to this crisis and caused such a prolific drain on tax payer dollars.”
In 2014, Indiana ranked 15th in the nation for overdose deaths with Marion County leading the state in OD deaths and non-fatal emergency room visits.

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Indianapolis sues drug companies for opioid crisis

Nov 15, 2017 | The Indiana Lawyer (IN)

By Olivia Covington

The city of Indianapolis is making good on its promise to sue some of the country’s largest opioid manufacturers and distributors and is seeking compensation for their role in the worsening opioid crisis that is “ravaging” the city.
In a 177-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on Tuesday, the city and Marion County demanded a jury trial and sought multiple forms of relief, including compensation for the past and future costs of “abat(ing) the ongoing public nuisance caused by the opioid epidemic.” The city also seeks damages for the costs of providing medical and therapeutic care, law enforcement resources and other similar costs related to combatting the growing opioid problem.
More than a dozen companies are named as defendants including Indianapolis-based Cardinal Health, Inc., and Purdue Pharm, the producer of OxyContin.
The complaint alleges the city and county spend millions of dollars every year to combat the epidemic created by the defendants. Meanwhile through an alleged false advertising campaign that created “a false perception of the safety and efficacy of opioids in the minds of medical professionals and members of the public,” the defendant drug companies have made “blockbuster profits,” including $8 billion in revenue in 2012 alone, the complaint claims.
The city also alleges the defendants had a duty to report and stop suspicious orders for opioid prescriptions, yet failed to do so, contributing to the epidemic.
“The rising numbers of persons addicted to opioids have led to increased health care costs and a dramatic increase in social problems, including drug abuse and diversion and the commission of criminal acts to obtain opioids throughout the United States, including Indianapolis and Marion County,” the plaintiffs wrote in their complaint. “Public health and safety throughout the United States, including Indianapolis and Marion County, has been significantly and negatively affected due to widespread inappropriate use of the drugs manufactured and distributed by defendants.”
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced his plans to take legal action against the drug companies in October, promising a “robust lawsuit” similar to those that have already been filed by several other government entities.
“Last winter, we set Indianapolis on a course to comprehensively reform our criminal justice system,” Hogsett said in a Tuesday statement. “Throughout that process, we have heard first-hand accounts of the devastation opioid abuse can wreck as it tears apart families and take(s) the lives of Indianapolis residents. We must do all we can to combat this epidemic of addiction while holding those accountable who have contributed to this crisis and caused such a prolific drain on taxpayer dollars.”
The suit was filed on behalf of the city and county by Indianapolis firm Cohen & Malad, which also called on the court to require the defendants to establish an “’abatement fund’ for the purposes of abating the opioid nuisance.”
“It’s time for the companies that profited to the tune of billions of dollars off opioids (to) be held accountable for the severe harm they’ve caused Indianapolis and Marion County,” Cohen & Malad managing partner Irwin Levin said in a statement. 6

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Buncombe County, NC Suit

'They're robbing us of citizens': Buncombe County sues top opioid sellers

Nov 15, 2017 | Asheville Citizen Times (NC)

By Jennifer Bowman

Buncombe County has filed a federal lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry's largest manufacturers and distributors that officials say are responsible for fueling the local opioid epidemic.
Commissioners and recently hired attorneys unveiled the public nuisance lawsuit during a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Twenty-three defendants are listed, which include five of the largest manufacturers of prescription opioids, the three largest wholesale drug distributors in the U.S., and their related companies.
The firms include Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Johnson and Johnson, Endo Health Solutions, Allergan, Actavis and Watson Pharmaceuticals. Buncombe County officials said the firms sell medicine such as Oxycontin, Percocet and Norco, among others.
For the lawsuit, the county hired attorneys associated with the Dallas-based firm Baron and Budd. Its list of clients include Cincinnati, Birmingham, Alabama, and Louisville.
In a handout distributed to news media, the county said filing a public nuisance lawsuit could "take the economic burden" off taxpayers and instead would place it on the distributors.
"We cannot afford in Buncombe County, or in the country anymore, to just stand back and let this happen," Commissioner Al Whitesides said. "We gotta speak up. Because we are speaking up and fighting for a lot of people."
Baron and Budd is well-known in the legal fight against opioid distributors and represents more than 80 units of government. Attorney Mike Fuller said Tuesday that the firm has spoken with several Western North Carolina municipalities, including Haywood and McDowell counties.
Under the agreement, Buncombe would not pay legal fees unless it won a settlement. If successful, Baron and Budd would receive 30 percent.
The county has not specified how much it will seek in monetary damages and it's unclear how long the process will take.
"Litigation can go many different routes," Fuller said. "We plan on pushing forward as hard as we can, as fast as we can."
The lawsuit claims the distributors and manufacturers engaged in "false, deceptive and unfair marketing and/or unlawful diversion of prescription opioids."
Allergan sent a statement late Tuesday.
"It is important to put into perspective Allergan’s role regarding opioids. Allergan’s two branded opioid products – Norco and Kadian – account for less than 0.08% of all opioid products prescribed in 2016 in the U.S," the company said. "These products came to Allergan through legacy acquisitions and have not been promoted since 2012, in the case of Kadian, and since 2003, in the case of Norco."
"Allergan has a history of supporting -- and continues to support -- the safe, responsible use of prescription medications. This includes opioid medications, which when sold, prescribed and used responsibly, play an appropriate role in pain relief for millions of Americans."
Buncombe County saw more than 200 opioid overdoses in the first eight months of 2017, according to state data. Last year, the county saw 42 opiate-related deaths -- a 45 percent increase from about 10 years prior.
County Social Services Director Tammy Shook also said about 70 percent of children entering foster care are due to parents dealing with addiction and substance abuse.
"These drugs are brought in here under false pretenses and they're robbing us of citizens," said Ellen Frost, the county board's vice-chairwoman. "They're robbing us of resources but more importantly, they're robbing us of citizens -- the babies that are in foster care, the paramedics that have to go out for things that they typically would never have to encounter.
"So, I embrace this fight."
You can view the lawsuit here: http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/11/14/theyre-robbing-us-citizens-buncombe-county-sues-top-opioid-sellers/863234001/

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North Carolina county files lawsuit against drug companies; attorney general speaks out

Nov 14, 2017 | Fox Carolina (NC)

By Shale Remien

It's hard to believe something so small could cause so much damage. "The opioid crisis is wreaking havoc on our state," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said.
Experts said painkillers are responsible for more than three times the number of U.S military deaths in the Vietnam War claiming more than 200,000 lives.
"A couple of years ago, Congress passed a law that weakened the DEA's ability to hold drug distributors and manufacturers accountable," Stein said.
Stein took us back to where he believes the epidemic started, relating it back to a 2015 law and the drug companies.
"We know why the drug distributors would want the DEA to be weakened, but that's not in the interest of the people, and Congress should be taking action that helps the people, not the drug companies," Stein said.
Stein is now leading a nationwide effort, teaming up with more than 40 attorney generals to urge Congress to repeal a law that stripped the DEA of the power to oversee these drug manufacturers.
"Today Buncombe County is announcing we are filing a suit against some of the major wholesale pharmaceutical companies," Buncombe County Chairman Brownie Newman said.
Newman said the county is suing five major drug distributors claiming more than a dozen companies falsely pushed these drugs onto doctors and the community.
"It's costing Buncombe County taxpayers millions of dollars in the cost to our first responders," the county claims in this suit. It says, dctors had the wrong information and they were told by drug companies patients would "rarely get addicted" by the pills.
Those listed as defendants in the lawsuit include:
Perdue Pharma, which sold OxyContin, MS Contin, Dilaudid, Butrans, Hysingla and Targiniq.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and its subsidiary Cephalon, which sold Actiq and Fentora
Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which sold Duragesic and Nucynta
Endo Health Solutions, which sold Opana, Percodan, Percocet and Zydone.
Allergan, Activis and Watson Pharmaceuticals, which sold Kadian and Norcogeneric versions of several opioids
The wholesale drug distributors listed as defendants are McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen Drug.

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Buncombe files federal lawsuit against drug companies

Nov 14, 2017 | Carolina Public Press

By Michael Gebelin

Buncombe County commissioners have filed a federal lawsuit accusing opioid drug manufacturers and distributors of deliberately creating a public health epidemic in order to increase profits.
The suit, which the county filed Tuesday in the federal court for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville, lists some of the largest prescription drug manufacturers and distributors in the world as defendants.
Attorneys for the county claim that drug makers like Purdue and Johnson & Johnson are responsible for investing millions of dollars in a fraudulent marketing scheme that downplayed the addictiveness of opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin; of funding third-party advertising efforts that promoted the drugs in an effort to sidestep federal regulators, and of paying doctors who were friendly to the companies to promote their efforts and their products.
Attorneys said the companies “aggressively pushed” their drugs to doctors with the goal of “(turning) patients into drug addicts for their own corporate profit.”
Commissioners expressed a united determination to do their part to stop the opioid epidemic in Buncombe County, as the spoke Tuesday afternoon at a press conference.
Vice Chair Ellen Frost said the proliferation of prescription drugs throughout the county is “the biggest attack on our community” that she’s seen during her time as a commissioner. Commissioner Al Whitesidesdescribed a meeting with constituents at which he talked with a mother and father who had recently lost a daughter to an opioid overdose. Commissioner Joe Belcher spoke about the funeral of a 21-year-old woman at his church who died of an overdose.
Dr. Blake Fagan, a physician who serves as the assistant director of the Family Medicine Residency Program with Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, also spoke at the press conference. He said pharmaceutical companies told doctors for years that opioid drugs were an appropriate treatment for chronic pain and weren’t habit-forming.
“These medicines are not as safe as they said they were,” he said.
The county is seeking damages related to public expenses for medical treatments for overdoses and deaths, counseling and rehab, caring for children who have had to enter the foster system because their parents are addicted to drugs, caring for infants born with withdrawal symptoms, economic losses and law enforcement costs.
The suit did not name a dollar amount that the county is seeking from the defendants and Mike Fuller, an attorney representing the Dallas, Texas, law firm Baron and Budd, was cautious about naming a specific dollar amount or a time frame in which the lawsuit might come to a conclusion.Allegations include fraud, racketeering
The suit says the defendants have created a public nuisance by their alleged complicity in the opioid epidemic and of engaging in negligence and neglect, misrepresentation, violations of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, civil conspiracy, fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation.
The suit also claims the companies have violated federal racketeering statutes that are typically used to prosecute organized crime gangs. The lawsuit accuses the companies of coordinating efforts between manufacturers and distributors to ignore suspicious orders for drugs and to conceal this coordination from federal agencies. The suit describes a culture of closed-door meetings and private trade associations where drug companies meet to discuss the best ways to subvert the monitoring system for prescription opioids.
The suit says the sale of opioids has become wildly profitable for companies like Purdue over the past two decades, when the companies convinced physicians that opioids were an appropriate treatment for chronic pain rather than prescribing them primarily for end-of-life care and short-term severe pain, as was historically the case.
In 2010, the suit says, the sale of opioids generated $11 billion globally and that sales have been above $8 billion per year in the U.S. since 2009.
Those rising sales have been accompanied by a rising human toll. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were 64,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016 and said in 2011 that fatal overdoses had tripled since 2001. In North Carolina, 12,000 people died from overdoses from 1999-2016. Those deaths cost the state $2.1 billion in 2016, according to the lawsuit. From 2004-2015, hospitalizations of newborns with withdrawal symptoms increased 902 percent in North Carolina.
Buncombe County has been hit particularly hard. Emergency room visits related to opioids increased 173 percent from 2016 to 2017 and the county reported 230 overdoses in the first eight months of this year. In 2015, the county had a prescription rate of 88.5 prescriptions per 100 residents, which amounted to 68 pills per person per year. The suit also alleges that 70 percent of Buncombe County foster children enter the system because one or both of their parents struggle with drug addiction.
Companies named in the lawsuit include AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Cardinal Health, McKesson Corporation, Purdue Pharma, The Purdue Frederick Company, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Noramco, Endo Health Solutions, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Allergan, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Watson Laboratories, Actavis, Actavis Pharma and Mallinckrodt.
Baron and Budd, which represents the county in the case, is engaged in several other similar federal lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors, including cases filed by public officials in Louisville, Kentucky; Birmingham, Alabama; Cincinnati, Ohio; and seven other Ohio counties.
In North Carolina, Wilmington and New Hanover County are considering a similar suit, according to news media reports. The law firm is representing Buncombe County on a contingency basis, meaning the law firm would receive its fee from any damages the county receives in the case. Commissioners confirmed on Tuesday that had agreed with the lawyers on a 30 percent of any awarded damages as the their fee.Stein leads multi-state investigation
Many of the companies named the Buncombe County lawsuit are also the subjects of an investigation led by Attorney General Josh Stein in conjunction with several other states.
Stein’s office announced Sept. 19 that he is seeking documents from the companies “to evaluate whether the manufacturers and distributors engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing, sale and distribution of prescription opioids.”
Stein’s investigation mirrors many of the allegations Buncombe County has made, including “the possibility that patients and doctors were misled about the addictive nature of these drugs” and “whether (distributors) fulfilled their duty to raise red flags about pharmacies’ suspicious drug orders.”
While the state Department of Justice isn’t a party to the Buncombe County lawsuit, the county does have Stein’s support, according to DOJ spokesperson Laura Brewer.
“We support local governments’ efforts and are staying in close touch with them as we investigate, and we encourage them to do the same,” Brewer said in a Tuesday email to Carolina Public Press.

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Buncombe commissioners join fight against opioid distributors

Nov 14, 2017 | WLOS (NC)

By Frank Kracher

Buncombe County Commissioners have announced their plans to join the fight against opioid distributors.
During a news conference on Tuesday, commissioners said they're filing a lawsuit against five of the largest manufacturers of prescription opioids and wholesale drug distributors.
County officials said they want the companies held accountable for putting too many prescription opioids into the community. They claim the companies intentionally mislead health care providers and patients about the dangers of opioids.
"Today, Buncombe County has filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors."
With that, commission chairman Brownie Newman laid out the county's strategy.
The county has hired outside counsel, a firm that's agreed to handle a case that'll likely cost millions. But expenses and fees will come only if there's a win.
"It's brought on people, not due to their fault, it's due to the push by the industry, and we want to expose it for what it is," Mike Fuller, of the McHugh Fuller Law Group, said.
"If you give somebody a 30-day prescription, they have a 35, almost 40 percent chance of still being on an opiate a year later," Dr. Blake Fagan, of the Mountain Area Health Education Center, said.
Officials ran down the frightening data -- more than 17 million painkillers prescribed in Buncombe County last year (that's 68 pills for every adult and child), eight opioid prescriptions were dispensed for every 10 residents and 70 percent of children in foster care are there because of parental addiction.
"We cannot afford, in Buncombe County or the country, any more to just to stand back and let this happen," commissioner Al Whitesides said.
"I embrace this fight, and it's going to be a fight. But more importantly, I embrace those citizens who are, have become, victims of this horrible, horrible, disease," commissioner Ellen Frost said.
County officials said the fight needs an additional component -- legal action.
"We bring a fourth prong to our efforts to respond. We've been responding with prevention, with efforts to expand treatment options and on the enforcement side of things. And this lawsuit is about the accountability prong of the strategy," commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara said.

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Other Litigation Coverage

Salt Lake County to sue drugmakers over opioid epidemic

Nov 14, 2017 | Becker's Hospital Review

By Brian Zimmerman

Salt Lake County officials on Monday shared plans to file suit against multiple drugmakers for their alleged roles in Utah's opioid epidemic.
Ben McAdams, the Democratic mayor of Salt Lake County, said the crisis is straining the county's legal system and limiting bed availability for individuals seeking addiction treatment.
"Utah is dealing with the public health crisis that is devastating counties across America, due to the sales and overdose deaths of highly-addictive opioid pain pills," Mr. McAdams said. "In 2014 opioids generated $11 billion in revenue for drug companies. But the people who became addicted couldn't afford to buy the pills on the street or get into substance use treatment, so for too many, the alternative was heroin."
Twenty-four Utah residents died of a prescription drug overdose every month in 2015, according to The Salt Lake City Tribune.
"As our colleagues in other counties across the country are learning, the cost of this crisis — in terms of lives and dollars — shows no sign of falling in the short term," Mr. McAdams said. "We have to do what we can to hold the drug makers accountable for the harm inflicted on people, families and taxpayers."

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Salt Lake City Seeks ‘Damages For The Harm’ Caused By Big Pharma’s Painkillers

Nov 14, 2017 | The Daily Caller

By Steve Birr

Officials are joining forces to sue pharmaceutical companies in Salt Lake City over the opioid crisis in an effort to “change the outrageous behavior that is harming families” in Utah.
Ben McAdams, the mayor of Salt Lake County, filed a lawsuit Monday with Utah State Speaker of the House Greg Hughes and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill against the pharmaceutical industry, that will seek damages for the economic losses of the county from the addiction crisis. The officials allege companies used fraudulent statements to market their drugs to doctors while downplaying the risks for abuse and addiction, reports FOX 13.
The officials are not yet specifying how much in damages they are seeking and which pharmaceutical companies will be named in the lawsuit, saying Monday they will weigh their various legal options over the next two weeks.
“We will no longer be silent and let this happen and go on without accountability,” District Attorney Gill said Monday, according to FOX 13. “As a public prosecutor, I see people in the drug cartel who profit over people suffering, and they exploit that suffering with one common purpose in mind, which is to increase their profit. There is no difference with Big Pharma doing the same thing. They are exploiting that same misery, that same suffering.”
Opioid abuse is running rampant in Utah, a state that had the seventh highest rate of overdose deaths in 2015 in the country. The Utah Department of Health estimates between 24 to 30 residents die from an opioid overdose each month.
Lawsuits are mounting against the largest drug makers in the country for their alleged complicity in sparking the opioid crisis through dishonest advertising. Twenty-eight counties in Wisconsin filed separate lawsuits Nov. 7 against drug makers for spreading death in their communities through false advertising.
President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a “public health emergency” Oct. 26, giving states hit hard by opioid addiction flexibility on how they direct federal resources to combat rising drug deaths.
Data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse released Sept. 7 predicts the addiction epidemic in America will continue to deteriorate, pushing drug deaths to an estimated 71,600 in 2017. If the estimates prove accurate, 2017 will be the second year in a row that drug deaths surpass U.S. casualties from the Vietnam War.

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Utah County Plans To Sue Opioid Makers, Joining SLCo

Nov 15, 2017 | Utah Public Radio

By Bob Nelson

The Utah County Commission passed a resolution Tuesday to pursue legal action against the manufacturers of opioids. They’re now the second county in the state to do so this week.
“Besides being [harmful] financially for the county, it needs to be under a certain amount of scrutiny and control that we’re looking at on a regular basis to curb this epidemic that’s going on," says County Commission Chair Bill Lee.
He says he hopes to have Wasatch Front counties like Salt Lake and Davis come together to hold big pharmaceutical companies accountable for the state’s opioid crisis.
“And I felt personally it was time," he says. "We’ve got to stop talking and let’s start acting.”
Lee says he expects some very focused dialog on the matter at the Utah Association of Counties Annual Legislative Interim Day starting Wednesday in St. George.
The resolution follows Salt Lake County’s decision Monday to go after drug makers. District Attorney Sim Gill says a private law firm will be hired to handle the suit, but did not specify which companies would be targeted.

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Utah County joins movement to pursue legal action against opioid distributors

Nov 14, 2017 | Daily Herald (UT)

By Katie England

By the end of the year, Utah County will take action to pursue legal action against drug manufacturers and distributors of opioids, according to a resolution the Utah County Commission passed Tuesday.
Commission Chair Bill Lee said the commission has heard from multiple groups of lawyers and legislators on the issue, and felt it was better to “jump on this sooner rather than later,” he said during the commission meeting Tuesday.
“It’s a crisis,” Lee said. “We all see it. It’s not hidden anywhere, it’s known.”
The resolution, passed unanimously by the county’s three commissioners, outlines an “opioid-induce(d) public health epidemic,” stating that Utah ranked fourth highest in the United States for drug overdose deaths in 2014, with an average of six people dying per week as a result of overdosing on prescription opioids.
Opioids, both prescription and illicit opioids like heroine, are the main driver of drug overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. In Utah alone, 646 deaths can be attributed to drug overdoses in 2015.
“Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999, ... and so have sales of these prescription drugs,” according to the CDC website. The most common prescription opioids involved in overdose deaths include methadone, oxycodone and hydrocodone.
“Drug companies, knowing of the serious risks and adverse outcomes related to the use of their opioids, including the highly addictive nature of their opioid products, nevertheless set out in the 1990s and 2000s to persuade providers, regulators and patients that opioids are safe and effective in treating chronic non-cancer pain,” the commission’s resolution states.
Other local government entities, including states, counties and cities, have passed similar resolutions around the country, including Salt Lake County, which announced intent of similar legal action on Monday.
The opioid crisis has incurred expenses in many county departments, Lee said, including the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. Lee said the county is starting to put numbers together to see how much to seek in the lawsuit.
Though that process is still ongoing, Lee said the numbers will “probably be shocking.”
Lee said he expects Utah County will be alone in pursuing this action, but said he wants the county to be willing to do it alone if need be.
“I would like us to be willing to do so if need be,” Lee said. “That’s the reason why I put this resolution forward.”
During the commission meeting, Lee read out loud a letter from Utah’s Speaker of the House, Greg Hughes, thanking the commission for taking up the issue.
In the letter, Hughes said that Utah has continued to prioritize tens of millions of dollars annually for law enforcement, behavioral health needs, treatment beds and other programs to curb the opioid addiction crisis.
“We cannot keep up with the growing toll of lives lost,” Hughes’ letter said. “It is clear that ... we as public servants have to do more.”
Commissioner Greg Graves said the commission has been discussing this issue for several months, and has not rushed into the decision to go forward.
“We actually have reached out to the attorney general and to our legislators,” Graves said. “Not that they’re not concerned, but they believe this is the best course of action for the counties to do this.”
Commissioner Nathan Ivie voiced his full support for the resolution.
“I believe the basis of a free society is a moral socieity,” Ivie said. “And when a segment of society engages in immoral activity, there is a role of government to ensure justice is served.”
The commissioners included in the resolution a requirement that they take action on the resolution by Dec. 31. Lee said he expects to move on the issue quickly.
Lee said he hopes to see a Request for Proposals go out very soon, and that many conversations are being had on the topic.
The RFP would be to retain a legal firm to represent the county in the case, preferably a firm that has already taken similar cases.

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Dodge County joins Federal lawsuit to prosecute opioid manufacturers

Nov 14, 2017 | The Daily Citizen (WI)

By Terri Pederson

Dodge County voted Tuesday to join more than two dozen other counties in the state in pursuing opioid manufacturers and distributors in federal court.
Lawsuits filed last week on behalf of 28 Wisconsin counties seek unspecified monetary damages and says county health and law enforcement services have been strained by the opioid epidemic. A resolution before the Dodge County Board noted that similar bodies had filed or intended to file lawsuits “in an effort to force the persons and entities responsible for the persons and entities responsible for the opioid epidemic to assume financial responsibility for the costs associated with addressing, combating and otherwise dealing with the opioid epidemic.”
The Dodge County Board voted 26-1 to follow suit. The resolution adopted by the board calls for “appropriate county officials to execute an Engagement Letter” with a law firm that protects the county from any financial risk.
Dodge County Supervisor David Guckenberger from Ashippun was the lone board member to vote against the resolution.
“I can’t support this resolution,” Guckenberger said. “What would we do if one of the manufacturers resided in Dodge County?”
Guckenberger said it reminded him of the tobacco lawsuit years ago, which never solved the problem.
In 1998, the tobacco industry and state governments reached a $206 billion settlement. Wisconsin was to receive $5.9 billion as its portion of the settlement, but sold its yearly payouts in exchange for an immediate lump sum of $1.3 billion to plug a state budget hole. Only a fraction of the funds Wisconsin received went toward anti-tobacco efforts.
“It doesn’t solve anything or show us how to get people to stop using it,” Guckenberger said.
Supervisor Lisa Derr of Beaver Dam agreed that it was a small gesture that doesn’t solve the problem, but said county leaders must continue to do more.
“We have to support other efforts in the future, but I do support this,” Derr said.

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Waushara County to Join Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers

Nov 15, 2017 | Waushara Argus (WI)

By Staff

Waushara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the resolution to join 28 other Wisconsin counties that have filed separate federal lawsuits alleging that large pharmaceutical companies are responsible for the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Prior to approval of the resolution to engage the law firms Von Briesen & Roper, S.C. and Crueger Dickinson LLC, together with Simmons Hanley Conroy LLC as counsel in relation to the claim against opioid manufacturers was approved during the regular meeting on Nov. 8, the Supervisors held a discussion with lawyers, Krista Baisch, a partner with Crueger Dickinson LLC, and Steve Nelson, a shareholder with Von Briesen & Roper, S.C.
The conversation was held after the resolution was tabled during the October meeting in order to receive more information about the lawsuit and what would be expected from the county prior to approval.
During the discussion, Baisch stated the law firms filed their first set of lawsuits on Nov. 8 on behalf of 28 Wisconsin counties, and are looking forward to advancing this important cause against the opioid manufacturers for what they believe is a nationwide epidemic impacting Waushara County and many of the departments within the county.
Baisch said all of the 28 lawsuits filed in Wisconsin Federal Court were identical and made the same allegations. The reason for independent lawsuits is because the issue is not a class action, as each county is requesting individualized damages, according to Nelson.
Once the suits are filed from all the counties willing to participate, the law firms plan to hold a meeting with a representative from each county early next year to go through how they plan to request individual county information, such as how a specific department in the county is incurring costs and where the county has seen the most harm.
“At this meeting, what we are going to do is we are going to be able to break down for each individual county what departments are impacted, and that is how we are going to develop a damage model,” said Baisch. “That will be the county’s involvement in it –assisting us in generating information on how the county is impacted by this epidemic.”
Baisch stated there will be man hours involved from the county liaison to help gather the information, but does not foresee the amount of time needed being a substantial burden.
The law firms have retained a document capture retention group that will come to each of the counties to speak to specific individuals in the departments that are affected, explained Nelson. “They are going to interview that person and their team will take over copying those documents,” he said.
“We understand you all have people who work a lot and we don’t want to add a lot of our load to them,” Nelson added. “We want to make it as easy as possible because we want consistent data from all of our counties.”

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Marinette County joins lawsuit against drugmakers over opioid crisis

Nov 14, 2017 | NBC 26 (WI)

By Matt Jarchow & Maris DeCandido

As the opioid epidemic rages on across the country, another Wisconsin county has decided to join a lawsuit against drugmakers accused of contributing to the problem.
On Tuesday, the Marinette County Board of Supervisors voted to join the lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies for their role in the epidemic.
Manufacturers did not disclose the addictive nature of their drugs, county leaders said.
The drugs have also cost the county considerable time and resources as it has worked to fight the problem. County leaders told NBC26 they hope the lawsuit will hold companies financially accountable for those costs, but they also have another goal.
"The other part of the lawsuit, I think, is just to be able to bring public awareness to the community, that - be careful, watch out what you're getting prescribed, ask your doctors more questions," said Mark Anderson, chairman of the Marinette County Board.
Members of the county's health department said they hope any money won in the lawsuit would go to help people needing treatment.
Marinette County joined more than two dozen other Wisconsin counties in the lawsuit.

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Nueces County pursuing legal action against opioid makers

Nov 14, 2017 | Corpus Christi Caller Times (TX)

By John C. Moritz

Nueces County on Tuesday hired two law firms to proceed with litigation against several top pharmaceutical companies on grounds that they are irresponsibly pressuring physicians to prescribe highly addictive medication to patients.
The decision to hire Houston lawyer Richard Schechter as lead attorney and lawyer Simon Purnell of Corpus Christi in a supporting role puts the Coastal Bend county on similar footing with several other Texas counties – and even the state attorney general – in taking court action to curb what they say is a deadly epidemic of legal narcotics abuse.
“Nueces County has the highest opioid related deaths in Texas,” Nueces County Clerk Kara Sands said in a tweet just after the court acted. “The Commissioners Court have just voted to sue opioid drug manufacturers, promoters (and) distributors responsible for causing this awful epidemic.”
The commissioners’ action allows the attorney to initiate court action against “opioid drug manufacturers, promoters, and distributors responsible for causing and contributing to an epidemic of opioid addiction in Nueces County.”
The companies named by the commissioners’ court are Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Insys Therapeutics, the McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen.
The agenda item that prompted the hiring of lawyers accuses the companies of violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It also accuses them of “fraud, unjust enrichment, negligence, violations of the federal Controlled Substances Act, civil conspiracy and any other related causes of action, and related matters.”
Last month, Upshur County in East Texas became the first governmental entity in the state to take legal action against the drugmakers in connection with alleged opioid abuse. Upshur County’s filing in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Texas names several of the same companies targeted by Nueces County.
The drug companies deny any wrongdoing.
“We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis, and we are dedicated to being part of the solution," Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, said in a statement. "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”
In September, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his office was joining counterparts in 40 other states in issuing “investigative subpoenas” to several companies that make and sell addictive prescription painkillers. The states are looking to see if the companies have broken any laws related to the distribution of the medications.
Paxton at the time said his goal “is to collect enough information” to determine if multistate court action is warranted.
“We’ll determine an appropriate course of action once it’s determined what role these companies may have played in creating or prolonging the opioid crisis,” he said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three out of every five drug overdose deaths involve an opioid. In 2015, opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 U.S. deaths, the centers said.
“Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have more than quadrupled since 1999,” the centers’ website says.
Several states and several subdivisions within states have taken legal action against the opioid drugmakers in recent weeks. The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday reported that Indianapolis filed a federal lawsuit against opioid manufacturers alleging that they used deceptive marketing campaigns to reap “blockbuster profits.”
Last week, according to the Milwaukee Journal, 28 Wisconsin counties took similar court action. Late last month, the attorney general in New Jersey sued Purdue Pharma, alleging a “direct link" between the opioid epidemic and the company’s push for more profits, the Asbury Park Press reported.
Tyner Little, administrator for the Nueces County Commissioners’ Court, said it hopes to recover the cost of treating people with opioid addiction and related matters and that the lawyers fees would likely be tied to any judgment or settlement the county is awarded.

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City sues drug giants

Nov 14, 2017 | Yale Daily News (CT)

By Christina Carrfiell

City Hall filed a lawsuit on Nov. 7 against Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, alleging that they are contributing to the opioid crisis in New Haven.
In recent weeks, the city’s corporation counsel and the Connecticut law firm Scott + Scott have taken up New Haven’s case against the pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. The submission follows a stream of similar lawsuits filed by state attorneys general nationwide and multiple Connecticut cities. By bringing suit, New Haven and other governments seek compensation from pharmaceutical companies that allegedly exacerbated the opioid epidemic by misrepresenting the safety of prescription opioids.
“New Haven is pursuing legal action against Purdue Pharma and more than a half-dozen other manufacturers and suppliers of opioids, seeking relief from promotional techniques and marketing strategies that cause widespread addiction to these medications and the resulting strain on the city’s social services network,” Mayor Toni Harp said in a statement to the News. “The city also seeks remuneration for excessive costs it incurs coping with fallout from the opioid crisis.”
According to mayoral spokesman Laurence Grotheer, the attorneys filing the lawsuit are accusing the manufacturers of engaging in “questionable” marketing strategies and promotion techniques for pain-relieving drugs with high potencies.
Opioid-related expenses include the increased number of overdoses and emergencies that the New Haven Fire Department and American Medical Response — the city’s contracted ambulance service — must respond to.
Chuck Babson, regional director for American Medical Response, said the private company transported 185 patients who presumably overdosed on opioids in the city from Nov. 1, 2016, to Oct. 31, 2017. During these transports, patients are always given the antidote naloxone, stretching the city’s resources, Grotheer said.
Purdue Pharma spokesman Robert Stephenson said in an email to the News that the company denies the allegations and is deeply troubled by the opioids crisis. He added that Purdue Pharma developed three of the first four FDA-approved opioid medications with “abuse-deterrent properties.”
He also pointed out that many of the city’s grievances against Purdue stem from actions approved by the FDA, such as the company’s warning labels on prescription drugs, and that the blame should therefore not fall on Purdue.
David Scott, an attorney with Scott + Scott, said Purdue Pharma is only one of many manufacturers and distributors that deceived the public, the medical community and regulators for years. Furthermore Purdue Pharma allegedly misrepresented its clinical trials and instructed its sales professionals to recommend that prescribers increase the dosage strength of their brand-name opioid OxyContin, driving more and more people into a cycle of addiction and reckless pain management, Scott said.
He added that municipalities such as New Haven had no way to predict that this behavior would trigger an epidemic and that local governments were left to “pick up the pieces” with emergency responders, law enforcement and social workers.
Another purpose of the lawsuit is to ensure that New Haven is compensated for costs that would otherwise have been used to fund education, infrastructure and community services, Scott said.
Medications such as Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin, heroin and other opioids all share a similar chemical structure that allows them to react with opioid receptors in the brain, Scott said. There are serious public health consequences to these similarities, he said, because, even if manufacturers and distributors have recently tightened their practices, their decade of deception had already driven the addiction crisis, he added.
Distributors are also being sued for their failure to report suspicious orders to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Scott said. As a result, New Haven was flooded with an excess supply of opioids.
Purdue Pharma introduced OxyContin in 1996.

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Nueces County joining lawsuit against opioid drug producers

Nov 14, 2017 | KIIITV (TX)

By Rudy Trevino

Nueces County Commissioners voted Tuesday to hire two law firms to represent taxpayers in a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies that produce highly addictive opioid drugs.
It's an effort to grasp control over the growing number of deaths caused by opioid overdoses.
Officials received a shocking statistic Tuesday -- Nueces County is leading the state of Texas in the number of people who die from opioid related causes.
"Nueces County has been impacted by this more than any other county in the state of Texas," Commissioner Mike Pusley said.
That is why Nueces County is joining with local and state governments accross the country to argue that taxpayers are bearing the financial burden associated with opioid addiction.
"Well what we would hope to gain is reimbursment for the money the County has had to put out through the hospital district, through law enforcement, our district attorney's office, through our courts," Pusley said. "I mean the majority of what we try here in our courthouse is drug cases. People who have been arrested for distribution of drugs. Drug abuse issues. All those kinds of things, and it impact us here a great deal."
Among the biggest expenses is rehab, and one need look no further than the largest local recovery facility in South Texas, Charlie's Place.
"We served just under 2,100 patients last year," Charlie's Place CEO Amy Grandberry said.
Grandberry sees the problem of opioid addiction every day.
"For the second year in a row, heroin was our number one drug of choice of the people who come for treatment," Grandberry said. "Prior to that it had been alcohol, and for the last two years it has been heroin with opiate prescriptions also rising at the same time."
Texas is currently number two in the U.S. for health care costs associated with opioid abuse. That means counties are stuck footing the bill to help treat people who cannot afford to pay for services.
So now, commissioners have hired two law firms in hopes of making pharmaceutical companies pay their share.
"If we're the largest one in the state of the Texas, obviously it's going to be substantial," Pusley said. "We're talking millions of dollars."
Pusley said he believes pharmaceutical companies conspired to deceive doctors and their patients into believing the drugs were not addictive and would not lead to other addictions like heroin use.

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Jasper County panel mulls opioid lawsuit

Nov 14, 2017 | The Joplin Globe (MO)

By Koby Levin

Jasper County commissioners are weighing a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their alleged contribution to a rise in drug addiction and overdoses.
John F. Garvey, a former St. Louis Circuit judge who now works as an attorney for the firm Carey Danis & Lowe, proposed the lawsuit at a Tuesday morning commission meeting. He told the commission that taxpayers are already bearing the cost of the epidemic when the sheriff’s office responds to opioid-related crimes or the county health department works to educate residents about the dangers of opioid addiction.
“You are holding the bag — the cost of this epidemic,” Garvey said.
His firm is offering to represent roughly 15 counties along the southern and western edges of the state in similar lawsuits, including Barton, Jefferson, Christian and Greene counties. They were individually chosen for their combination of population, rate of opioid prescriptions and death rate attributed to opioid overdoses. The proposed lawsuit is not a class action.
In 2016, Jasper County ranked eighth in the state for its opioid prescribing rate of 140 retail prescriptions per 100 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It ranked 189th out of 2,962 counties nationwide that had data available.
County officials said they would decide whether to join the suit after reviewing Garvey’s proposal. But most called it a promising step toward fighting a drug epidemic that has killed dozens of county residents in recent years.
“We can certainly push back” against the epidemic, said Tom Flanigan, Eastern District commissioner. “I think that’s what we’re doing here.”
By signing up for the suit, Jasper County would join a growing number of states and local governments seeking damages from pharmaceutical companies for the ballooning abuse of painkillers, heroin and other derivatives of the poppy plant. Roughly 64,000 people died of opioid overdoses last year in the United States, according to the CDC.
So far, most legal actions have been directed against drug manufacturers such as Perdue Pharma LP, the developer of OxyContin. The company pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal charges that it misled doctors, regulators and patients about the addictive potential of OxyContin, a potent painkiller, agreeing to pay $600 million in fines and other payments.
The proposed lawsuit in Jasper County would name Perdue but also seven drug manufacturers and distributors who remain untouched by the legal fallout of the opioid crisis. Garvey says these companies — Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, McKesson Pharmaceutical, Cardinal Health Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., AmerisourceBergen and Janssen — violated state and federal laws requiring them to report the diversion of their drugs into the illicit market.
Spokespeople for Perdue and Janssen denied the allegation.
Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a trade group that represents McKesson, Cardinal and AmerisourceBergen, said in a statement that drug distributors shouldn’t be held responsible for the opioid epidemic.
“We aren’t willing to be scapegoats,” wrote Clare Krusing of the alliance, adding that “we don’t make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines, or dispense them to consumers.”
The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nonetheless, Garvey’s firm is betting big on the success of the suit. Under the proposed contract, the county would not pay legal fees unless it wins damages, in which case it would pay Garvey’s firm 30 percent of the proceeds plus legal fees.
Garvey did not give the county a deadline to decide on joining the suit but said his firm hopes to file in court by January.
Norman Rouse, the county’s attorney, said that the main potential stumbling block is the difficulty of calculating the cost of the opioid epidemic to the county, which could include addiction education programs, health care and cell space for people jailed as a result of opioid addiction, and payments made by the county to addiction treatment centers.
State already suing
Missouri is among more than a dozen states suing drug companies for deceptive marketing of opioid drugs.

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County considers joining lawsuit against opioid industry

Nov 15, 2017 | Forsyth Herald (GA)

By Kathleen Sturgeon

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners is considering teaming up with other municipalities to join a lawsuit in the fight against opioids.
The board heard a presentation Nov. 7 by Shayna Sacks, a partner with Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, which is part of the group pursuing a lawsuit on behalf of local governments seeking damages to cover the costs associated with the drug epidemic. The award would help cover expenses associated with substance abuse programs, healthcare, environmental, medical examiner, lost productivity, foster care, Narcan and increased law enforcement.
Other local jurisdictions considering joining or that have already joined include Fulton County, Henry County, DeKalb County, Newton County and Clayton County.
State Rep. Vernon Jones spoke to the board saying opioids are impacting local governments’ budgets.
“The opioid epidemic has no boundaries,” Jones said. “No jurisdiction, gender, race, age or anything. It’s killing people. Because of the opioid crisis, similar to the tobacco litigation, it’s having an impact on the sheriff’s office with the jail, the drug courts, local hospitals and substance abuse programs paid for by the local government.”
In 2015, over 300 million prescriptions were written for opioids, more than enough to give every American adult their own bottle of pills, Sacks said. That includes Vicodin, OxyContin and Opana.
From 1999 to 2013, opioids have claimed more than 175,000 lives, with more than 16,000 deaths attributed to opioid overdoses alone in 2013.
In Georgia, the overdose death rates have steadily increased from 1999 to 2015, nearly a nine-fold increase overall, Sacks said.
In the United States, prescription opioid abuse costs are about $55 billion annually.
The law firm is filing suit on behalf of municipalities, states/attorney generals, individuals and unions against the drug manufacturers, distributors, prescribers and pharmacies.
Some of the major drug distributers in the country have seen billions of dollars in sales, she said. Purdue Pharma manufactures OxyContin and Dilaudid, among others, and has generated from $2 to $3 billion annually in sales of OxyContin alone. Sacks said they are the “grandparent” of the epidemic.
The causes of action are negligence, false advertising, nuisance, consumer fraud, and unfair and deceptive practices, Sacks said.
The history of the opioid crisis dates back to the 1990s when influential journal articles and key opinion leaders encouraged physicians to prescribe the medications, downplaying addiction risks, Sacks said.
“The pharmaceutical industry began aggressively marketing their drugs,” she said. “Pill mills began popping up around the country as communities were flooded with prescription opioids. Over the next decade, people quickly grew addicted to the drugs. For many, the addiction evolved into heroin use.”
The county attorney will review the lawsuit and will have until Nov. 30 to decide whether to join the suit.

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Forsyth County may join opioid suits

Nov 14, 2017 | AJC (GA)

By Mark Woolsey

Forsyth County officials will study the possibility of becoming part of an expected wave of lawwsuits targeting the pharmaceutical industry over the manufacture and distribution of opioids.
The Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from Shayna Sacks with the Napoli Shkolnik law firm, who said they’re working with about 40 local governments preparing lawsuits alleging negligence and false advertising. She said the suits would target not only big pharma, but distributors, doctors and drugstore chains as well. She pegged the cost of the epidemic at $55.7 billion to governments, business and the justice system and said the suits would be aimed at recouping costs.
The local action would be filed in Forsyth County on a contingency basis. State Rep. Vernon Jones, D-Lithonia appeared before the board also and said that 46 U.S. attorneys general are also considering court action. He said the local suit would be designed to give Forsyth control on where any dollars awarded would go and that several other metro Atlanta counties are considering moving ahead with their own court cases.
Commissioners took no action after the presentation, but indicated they’ll huddle with county attorney Ken Jarrard over the matter and that Jarrard would study the law firm’s documentation.

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Santa Fe County to sue opioid makers, distributors

Nov 14, 2017 | Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)

By Tripp Stelnicki

Santa Fe County will become the latest government agency to sue manufacturers and distributors of opioids as policymakers in cities, counties and states across the nation seek to recover damages from the drugmakers they say have unleashed a costly epidemic of narcotic painkiller addiction.
County commissioners on Tuesday approved legislation that calls for legal action.
“We have to continually keep at the forefront of this particular issue,” Commissioner Robert Anaya said.
The county will issue a request for proposals for legal representation and could join other local governments in litigation. Bernalillo and Rio Arriba counties have discussed filing complaints against drug manufacturers, according to the resolution.
“We are more than willing to work with other counties and cities on this issue,” said Commissioner Anna Hansen, who sponsored the measure. “It is not just a small area of our state. It is the entire northern part of our state.”
In September, Mora County became the first local government agency in New Mexico to take action, retaining a pair of law firms to seek compensation from pharmaceutical companies whose prescription drugs the county claims have harmed residents. The suit was filed in a state District Court.
Also in September, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas brought a state District Court lawsuit against the country’s largest opioid manufacturers and distributors, claiming the drugmakers “falsely and misleadingly downplayed the serious risk of addiction” and “falsely touted” the benefits of the drugs.
A recent piece in The New Yorker explored the marketing ploys behind the rise in popularity of drugs such as OxyContin, which included the deployment of paid physicians to endorse the product to other doctors and vouch for the products’ dubious safety.
“New Mexico continues to endure the most catastrophic effects of the opioid crisis all while major out-of-state corporations make billions in profits at the expense of our families and communities,” Balderas in a statement said after filing the state’s lawsuit.
More than 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016, according to recent data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a 17 percent jump over 2015, when overdoses killed 59,000 people in the nation. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans younger than 50, the agency said.
Nearly 500 people in New Mexico died of overdoses in 2016, including 68 Santa Fe County residents — three times the number of county people killed in car crashes, according to the county resolution.
Many U.S. cities, counties and states have taken up legal action against various drugmakers or discussed their intent to do so — including dozens in the past few weeks alone. These include Jacksonville, Fla.; Toledo, Ohio; Lexington, Ky.; Salt Lake County in Utah and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a tribe based in North Carolina.
On Tuesday, the city of Indianapolis became the latest notable municipality to file a federal suit. “Opioids are killing our neighbors,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said earlier this year, according to the Indianapolis Star.
President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a “health emergency” late last month, and a commission he has tasked with studying the epidemic has recommended more than 50 strategies to combat the problem. But Trump has made no request to Congress to fund the initiatives.
Santa Fe County commissioners believe that through legal action against the drugmakers, the county might be able to recover some of the taxpayer dollars spent addressing the opioid crisis. The county’s law enforcement agencies, first responders, community service providers and detention facilities have been strained by costs associated with the epidemic, the resolution says.

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SF County moves toward suit against opioid makers

Nov 14, 2017 | Albuquerque Journal (NM)

By T.S. Last

The Santa Fe County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution that calls for the county to join other local and state governments in taking legal action against the manufacturers and distributors of drugs that have contributed to the nation’s opiate epidemic.
Commissioner Anna Hansen said the issue is a serious problem all over the nation, but particularly in northern New Mexico. She said she would like to see the county partner with the city of Santa Fe and other counties in litigation, and that she and other commissioners had been contacted by attorneys willing to represent the county.
County Manager Katherine Miller said selecting legal counsel to represent the county on the issue would be done through a Request for Proposals process.
More than 40 states, including New Mexico, have already filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies or distributors they allege are responsible for the opioid epidemic.
More County in northern New Mexico sued numerous mayor pharmaceutical companies in August, accusing them of knowingly over-distributing addictive drugs.
Santa Fe County’s resolution notes that state Health Department statistics show that 178 people in Santa Fe County died from drug overdoses from 2012 to 2015, and that nearly three times as many county residents (68) died from overdoses in 2016 than were killed in automobile accidents (23).

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County may join suit against opioid makers

Nov 14, 2017 | Tuscon News Now (AZ)

By Bud Foster

Pima County has been asked by two law firms if it would like to join in a nationwide lawsuit against opioid makers and distributors.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry issued a memorandum informing the Board of Supervisors of the letters and advising them it has been added to the agenda for Nov. 21, 2017.
One of the law firms is the Mike Moore Law Firm, LLC.
Moore came to national prominence in 1994, when as Attorney General in Mississippi, he filed suit against the big tobacco companies eventually winning a $246 billion settlement.
46 states joined the lawsuit that charged the tobacco companies with deception. 41 states have signed on so far, as have many cities and counties.
It's just one of the charges which could be filed against the opioid makers. The others include fraud and negligence.
The lawsuit will also allege the companies tried to "hide the dangers of opioids."
This suit would differ from a class action suit in that each entity would be required to prove its own case and the amount of damages.
Pima County has reported that its medical billings for opioid hospital care are as high as $239 million.
Emergency room costs have also risen from $10 million in 2010 to $25 million in 2016. The cost of law enforcement, prison expenses and others would have to be compiled.
One of the letters was sent to District 4 Supervisor Steve Christy who said he still needs to do "due diligence" before deciding which way to vote.
"I want to make sure we have a legitimate claim, that it's a legitimate problem and there's been a legitimate criminal offense," he said.
Christy is open to "dipping our big toe in the lake to see what's going to happen."
The county is scheduled to discuss potentially joining the suit in Executive Session.
"I also want to make sure that it's not an opportunity for a lot of people making a lot of money against people with deep pockets,"Christy said.

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Harris County 'weeks' away from filing opioid lawsuit against major pharma cos.

Nov 14, 2017 | Houston Business Journal (TX)

By Jack Witthaus

The damages awarded to the county could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The remainder of this article is under paywall: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/11/14/harris-county-weeks-away-from-filing-opioid.html

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St. Louis County Opens Door for Opioid Lawsuit

Nov 14, 2017 | WDIO (MN)

By Baihly Warfield

The St. Louis County Board paved the way Tuesday for the county attorney to sue several manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids.
Attorney Mark Rubin said about 60 other counties around the country have brought similar lawsuits, but St. Louis would be the first in Minnesota. Douglas County, Wisconsin, is one of the 60 that have sued.
"As your county attorney, I have a responsibility to help protect children and address the health and safety of our community," Rubin said.
He'll seek compensation for damages related to the opioid epidemic. According to the county resolution, opioid overdoses have increased 430 percent since 2000 in Minnesota. The national average is a 200 percent increase.
"It's a devastating impact that our children are suffering, adults, young adults, older adults," Rubin said. "It's across the entire spectrum."
District 5 Commissioner Pete Stauber said he has seen that impact firsthand as a police officer.
"I've seen and had to comfort parents of a deceased child in their bedroom from overdoses. I've had to give notifications of deceased family members because of overdoses," Stauber said. "It's one of the most horrible things that law enforcement officers have to do."
Commissioner Patrick Boyle, district 2, chairs the Health and Human Services committee. He said he has grave concerns with how opioids can affect families.
"We have just under 800 kids in out-of-home placement, at the cost over just over 10 percent of property taxes in St. Louis County," Boyle said. "And the supermajority of those kids, I can guarantee are off the opiate and heroin epidemic."
However, commissioners acknowledged this lawsuit is not a solution.
"You can sue anybody you want," 4th District Commissioner Tom Rukavina said. "You're not going to solve the problem. The only way you solve the problem is you give them a good job, and the only way you get a good job is to get a good education."
Commissioner Keith Nelson, District 6, said this is a "bold step" and drew on personal experience to make his decision.
"When you become a grandparent, you stop worrying about the world that you're living in. And you start worrying about the world that they're going to live in," Nelson said.
Duluth Mayor Emily Larson also stopped by Tuesday morning's meeting and threw her support behind the issue.
"I am so proud of St. Louis County for taking that leadership," Larson said. "It is such a prevalent issue for us here in Duluth. I know it is for you, I know whether it's Public Health and Human Services or sheriffs or housing or whatever, just such a prevalent issue."
She said the city will do whatever it can to support the county attorney's office in the lawsuit.
By authorizing Rubin to seek the lawsuit, the St. Louis County Board will also allow him to hire an outside firm to help. Rubin said the firm will do that with no fees or expenses, but it will take a 25 percent contingency.
Rubin didn't give an idea of how much money a settlement may procure, but the resolution said the goal is to "provide the county with additional resources to combat opioid addiction, overdoses and death through both equitable and monetary relief."
Attorney Rubin expects the suit will be filed in the next couple of weeks.
Legislative Priorities
The County Board also approved its legislative priorities for 2018.
Because it's an even year, it's a bonding year. At the top of the county's list is a request for $5.75 million in repairs to the Depot. That money would go toward replacing the roof, making repairs on the exterior and putting in a new HVAC system.
The list of bonding requests also includes funding for short- and long-term crisis housing and upgrades to buildings at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center.
Commissioner Boyle proposed an amendment adding money for the Glensheen as another priority. And Commissioner Rukavina asked for another amendment listing funding for an Ely trailhead and business park expansion as county priorities.
The 2018 legislative session begins in February.

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St. Louis County to File Lawsuit Against Opioid Manufacturers

Nov 14, 2017 | Fox 21 (MN)

By Staff

The St. Louis County Board unanimously passed a resolution today to start litigation against pharmaceutical opioid manufacturers and distributors.
“Three primary manufacturers and three primary distributors are responsible for the manufacture and distribution of over 90 percent of the prescription opioids in this country,” the county board’s resolution read. “In addition to the devastating health impacts suffered by the county’s citizens, law enforcement and social services resources have been stretched nearly to the breaking point in addressing this recognized crisis.”
St. Louis County is not the only municipality that is suing the opioid manufacturers and distributors, but many other organizations are taking part in the lawsuits across the country. The hope from the lawsuits is to receive monetary compensation from the businesses involved in opioids, to help battle the addiction problems in each community.
“I think a really important part is saying this can’t go on the way it’s been and we as a community, as elected officials, are going to do something,” said Frank Jewell, county commissioner.
The new resolution will also allow the county attorney to hire an outside counsel to help him in the legal fight.
“We will seek to hold them responsible for any misconduct related to opioid marketing and any misconduct related to improperly oversupplying portions of the market. Any relief obtained will hopefully directly serve and benefit our fellow citizens in St. Louis County,” said County Attorney Mark Rubin.
In St. Louis County, there were 167 overdose deaths between 2011 and 2016.

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Lucas County commissioners hire attorneys to explore joining opioid lawsuits

Nov 14, 2017 | The Toledo Blade (OH)

By Mark Reiter

Lucas County officials gave the go-ahead Tuesday to possibly pursue legal action against opioid manufactures for reimbursement of costs incurred while dealing with the ongoing drug crisis.
The county commissioners hired Zoll and Kranz LLC of Sylvania Township and Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, a New York-based law firm, to work with the county prosecutor to evaluate the viability of a civil complaint against drug manufacturers.
The two law firms are representing the county commissioners as special counsel in the litigation.
Evy Jarrett, an assistant prosecutor, said Lucas County, like other counties and communities, has spent taxpayer funds for costs associated with the epidemic.
"We have seen heavy financial burdens on various aspects of local government," she said.
The agreement calls for the two law firms to be paid a retainer on a contingency fee basis. The amount paid by the county will be based on the outcome of any litigation, and they would only be paid if the county would be successful in court.
"This is going to be a long fight, but a good fight. I am hopeful we can get some financial compensation to the county for the significant losses it has suffered to take care of the harm caused by the drug manufacturers," attorney David Zoll said.
Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak said the impact on the community felt by the opioid crisis has extended to groups that provide treatment, law enforcement, and those that care for children such as the county's Children Services Board
"The agencies in our community have exploded with responsibilities to treat babies, families with heroin and fentanyl overdoses," she said.
Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, is representing counties in New York and municipalities around the counrty in complaints against drug manufacturers and distributors.
The city of Toledo filed a civil lawsuit Oct. 30 in Lucas County Common Pleas Court against 24 opioid manufacturers and distributors to recoup its costs for responding to opioid-related emergencies.
City council approved hiring law firms, Climaco, Wilcox, Peca & Garofoli Co., LPA, and Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, to sue for opioid-related costs. The law firms represent several other cities, including Dayton and Parma, Ohio, in similar suits.
Mr. Zoll said his firm will conduct a background investigation and then provide county officials with a recommendation on whether to proceed with a complaint against the opioid manufacturers.
"There are some details I need to find out now that we have been retained," he said.
Commissioners on Tuesday also approved a drainage improvement project along Ten Mile Creek in Sylvania Township and a request from the county Engineer Keith Earley to acquire land for easements from about 30 property owners.
The project, estimated to cost about $1.7 million, is designed to reduce the risk of flooding to area roads, especially Herr Road and Central Avenue, and remove 20 houses and 10 businesses from the official hazard areas for 100-year floods.
Work on the 1.64-mile stretch will include ditch construction to create flatter side banks and benches to expand its capacity for retaining flood water and enhancing ecological habitat.
Plans also call for the engineer and Metroparks Toledo to partner in a future project to use the right-of-way along the south edge of the improved creek for an extension of University Parks Trail.
The Metroparks has obtained a $214,000 Clean Ohio Trails Fund grant to extend the recreation trail along the former right-of-way between King and Silica.

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County joins opioid lawsuit

Nov 14, 2017 | The Ledger Independent (KY)

By Mary Ann Kearns

Mason County Commissioners agreed Tuesday to join a lawsuit that aims to hold opioid manufacturers financially responsible for the costs associated with the current drug epidemic.
Assistant County Attorney Jackie Sue Shadoan said the lawsuit is part of a nationwide push and is modeled after the tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s concerning advertising, marketing and promotion of tobacco products that eventually brought about the tobacco settlements with 46 state attorneys general, including Kentucky.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 91 Americans die from overdosing on opioids each day. And, Mason County Judge-Executive Joe Pfeffer said, the number of local deaths attributed to drug overdoses has become an issue. The problem has become so widespread locally that police and firefighters have been trained to use Narcan to revive people who have overdosed and Narcan kits are even being distributed to the general public.
Cities and counties which have filed suit against the manufacturers of opioid drugs would use any funds recovered to offset the costs associated with fighting the epidemic including for law enforcement and EMS.
Shadoan said there would be under no cost to the county to join the lawsuit.
Commissioners unanimously agreed to become a part of the lawsuit which, according to Shadoan, is not a class action suit.
Also Tuesday, Commissioners approved a resolution on Kentucky Wired, the statewide, open-access fiber optic network which will bring broadband internet to communities across the commonwealth.
Under the resolution, the county is requesting a change in the planned route from U.S. 62 to U.S. 68 before meeting Kentucky 324 and moving into Robertson County. Pfeffer said the county preferred route offers more possible customers for the system in the future when an internet service provider can expand the system from its primary trunk.
Pfeffer said the resolution also allows the county to seek estimates for expanding the capacity of the lines during installation, a cost-saving measure if completed up front. Maysville Mason County Area Chamber of Commerce Director Vicki Steigleder told commissioners that without the updated and expanded internet speed capacity, Maysville will not meet criteria as a Work Ready community in the future.

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Jax moves closer to opioid lawsuit; lawyers to be chosen in December

Nov 14, 2017 | Florida Politics

By A.G. Gancarski

The opioid overdose epidemic continues in Jacksonville, and a Jacksonville City Council Special Committee is still addressing the matter.
Even as legislators mull a path forward on treatment, the city is also considering legal action against pharmaceutical companies — continuing a trend we are seeing nationwide.
Committee Chairman Bill Gulliford told a story of a 29 year old who overdosed — the son of a friend.
“It encouraged me even more to do everything we can to address this scourge,” Gulliford said, noting that the overdose victim first took opioids after a motorcycle accident.
One means of addressing the scourge: legal action against the pharmaceutical companies.
The Office of General Counsel is vetting what are called “prestigious” law firms, with a decision expected early in December.
Earlier this year, the Jacksonville City Council approved a resolution OKing legal action.
“The general counsel’s approved it, and I don’t feel like there’s any impediment,” Gulliford said.
The city has absorbed real costs from the opioid epidemic.
Overdoses, at last count, end four times as many lives as homicides in Duval County, with 2016’s count of 464 casualties more than doubling 2015’s count of 201.
Caucasians represent 86 percent of the deaths, and over half of those passing away are in their 30s and 40s.
And things could get worse: a fentanyl derivative being used to cut heroin in the Ohio Valley doesn’t respond to Narcan.
911 calls for ODs to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department have tripled. Narcan administrations: up 500 percent. JFRD responded to over 3,411 calls in 2016, and the cost of transporting OD victims could near $4.5M this year.
JFRD is dealing with, on average, 321 calls a month related to overdoses alone, a representative said in the meeting.

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Panama City filing lawsuit against manufacturers of prescription opioids

Nov 14, 2017 | WJHG (FL)

By Riliegh McHugh

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released data stating Bay County and Washington County rank among the highest in the state when it comes to prescribing opioid drugs.
At Tuesday morning's Panama City Commission meeting, commissioners talked about the opioid crisis and announced the city will file a lawsuit against five of the largest manufacturers of prescription opioids and their related companies.
The suit alleges the companies have pushed highly addictive, dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients will only rarely get addicted. The CDC also released data saying the overdose death rate from opioids in Florida has gone up 55 percent from 2016 to 2017.
"For us, it's kind of a no-brainer, it's an epidemic here already and we are going to make a statement by doing something about it," said Panama City Mayor Greg Brudnicki.
We sat down with two Bay County Jail inmates who have struggled with opioids and understand how easy it is to get addicted to them. Pamela Lewis, one of the inmates we spoke with, has abused Xanax for years.
"I've been dead on arrival two or three times. I've overdosed several times. I have been fortunate enough to come back," said Lewis.
She was never prescribed it, but she said she had no problem getting it.
"The addiction will creep up on you. It's like a Never-Neverland type feeling, for me. If I get upset, hurt, disappointed, discouraged, I would often use that to make me feel better," said Lewis.
Many of the female inmates at the Bay County Jail are in for drugs. Heather Ammons, an inmate at the jail, says she's been using opioids since she was 18.
"My mother introduced me to opioids stating that it would make me feel better, sure enough, it did," said Ammons.
She believes the addictive drugs are too easily prescribed.
"The doctors need to be held accountable for who they're prescribing them to. It's an easy process to eliminate those that don't need them," said Ammons.
"It's not good, it doesn't go anywhere, it leads you to jail, institutions, and death. Please get off of them," implored Lewis.

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Vernon to participate in potential opioid crisis litigation

Nov 14, 2017 | American Press (LA)

By Pamela Sleezer

The Vernon Parish Police Jury approved a motion Monday to participate in potential litigation regarding the local impact of the nationwide opioid addiction crisis.
The panel agreed to retain the legal representation of the Laborde Earles Law Firm to investigate and, if appropriate, commence litigation against the manufacturers of prescription opioids for their role in the drug epidemic.
The police jury approved the motion after a discussion with Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft, who said his office had already decided to participate in the litigation.
“My decision to participate in this legal litigation is due to the direct effect that this epidemic has had on Vernon Parish citizens, and the impact opioids have had on law enforcement matters within our parish,” Craft said.
Laborde Earles Law Firm has already been retained by multiple parishes across the state.
On Sept. 18, the firm filed suit on behalf of the sheriffs of Lafayette, Rapides, Avoyelles and Jefferson Davis parishes. On Oct. 5, they filed suit on behalf of the sheriffs of Calcasieu, Ouachita, Sabine, Vernon and Washington parishes.
According to a statement from the firm, the suit is being brought on a contingency basis, and will not cost the participating agencies anything to pursue the litigation.
The firm said each lawsuit alleges opioid manufacturers “worked collectively to widely circulate misleading marketing materials declaring opioids safe and non-addictive — despite contrary medical studies and statistics.”
The cases brought by parishes and municipalities will ultimately seek to recover the costs that parishes and sheriffs have incurred fighting the epidemic, including addiction treatment, programming and training, and costs associated with housing and treating inmates and pre-trial detainees who are detained for opioid and heroin-related crimes.
Craft said VPSO authorities are in the process of compiling statistics on opioid-related arrests and cases from the past few years.
The Laborde Earles Law Firm is partnered with the nationally recognized firm Simmons Hanly Conroy who in 2003 won a settlement with Purdue Pharma for more than 5,000 clients in the amount of $75 million for damages suffered from the use of prescription opioid OxyContin.

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Commentary and FYIs

County judge denies pharmaceutical companies' request in opioid case

Nov 15, 2017 | The Norman Transcript (OH)

By Jacob McGuire

A Cleveland County judge ruled that several major pharmaceutical companies will have to start producing documents and answering written questions from the state in connection with a class action lawsuit Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed in June.
In September, attorneys representing Purdue Pharma, Allergan, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed a motion for a protective order, which — if granted — would have kept the companies from having to answer the state’s discovery requests until after a Dec. 5 dismissal hearing.
“If the court rules in [the companies’] favor at the Dec. 5 hearing, discovery would be irrelevant,” Purdue Pharma attorney Sanford Coats said. “We urge the court to not allow the burden of discovery to occur before the court rules on the motion to dismiss.”
The state’s lead attorney, Michael Burrage, said the true burden of this case is on the families.
“These companies have made millions, if not billions, of dollars on this marketing scheme in regard to opioids, and many people have died because of it,” he said.
Judge Thad Balkman denied the companies’ request for the protective order Tuesday.
In a petition filed June 30 in Cleveland County District Court, Hunter alleges that representatives from Purdue Pharma, Allergan, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. abused power and resources by overselling opioids to Oklahomans while underselling the risks of addiction.
“Deceptive marking campaigns and the resulting opioid abuse and addiction epidemic caused, and continues to cause, the state of Oklahoma, its businesses, communities and citizens to bear enormous social and ecumenic costs including increased health care, criminal justice and lost work productivity expenses,” the suit read. Hunter also alleged the drug companies used independent third-parties, including doctors, to promote the drugs.
Dr. Russell Portenoy at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and Dr. Lynn Webster, former chief medical director of Lifetree Clinical Research in Utah, were provided funding and consultant fees to help spread their misrepresentations regarding opioids and opioid use in general, the document read.
The companies responded to Hunter’s allegations in September when they filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
“These claims ignore the [Food and Drug Administration] long-standing approval of opioid medications for chronic pain and the extensive FDA-approved risk information that accompanies them. At its core, the petition seeks to challenge the FDA’s decision balancing the benefits and risks of certain opioid medications because [Hunter] disagrees with those decisions. Under principles of federal preemption, this court can and should reject the state’s effort to hold defendants liable for promoting opioid medications for uses approved by the FDA,” the motion read.
At the December hearing, both parties will be allowed to give oral arguments as to why the case should or shouldn’t be dismissed.
If Balkman doesn’t dismiss the case, drug companies have asked for the proceedings to be delayed until the FDA can complete an investigation of the risks and benefits of opioids.

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44 state attorneys general want repeal of law that curbed DEA powers

Nov 14, 2017 | The Washington Post

By Lenny Bernstein and Scott Higham

Forty-four state attorneys general asked Congress on Tuesday to repeal a law that effectively strips the Drug Enforcement Administration of potent weapons against large drug companies that have allowed hundreds of millions of pain pills to spill onto the black market.
The state law enforcement officials, many from places hit hard by the opioid epidemic, signed a letter from the National Association of Attorneys General to Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. Congress approved the law by unanimous consent, without a vote in either chamber, in 2016.
The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” revealed in a joint investigation last month that an early version of the legislation had been written by a drug industry lawyer and shepherded through the House by Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) for two years. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) negotiated the final version of the bill with the DEA. Two days after the media reports, Marino withdrew his nomination to be the nation’s next drug czar.
“The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act neither safeguards patient access to medication nor allows for effective drug enforcement efforts,” the bipartisan group of attorneys general wrote. “We urge you to repeal the act so that the public is protected and drug manufacturers and distributors may be held accountable for their actions.”
Marino defended the legislation, noting that it was rewritten by a bipartisan collection of senators and signed by President Barack Obama.
“This carefully crafted legislation was put together the way Americans want to see the process operate: transparent and with both parties working together to solve a complex problem,” Marino said in a statement. “We must balance the needs of patients — particularly those at end of life who sometimes find access to medicine a desperate challenge — and the needs of law enforcement.
“As I’ve done over my career as a prosecutor and a member of Congress, if law enforcement, in this case the DEA, needs additional resources or changes to legislation we will work with them to ensure they have the tools necessary.”
Hatch also defended the law.
“Calls for repeal are premature and frankly irresponsible before we have had a full airing of the bill and its actual effects,” he said in a statement. “Critics of the bill chastise Congress for passing the bill without a full awareness of what the bill would do. Ironic, then, that critics are now rushing to repeal the bill without any data on the bill’s impact or official word from DEA on how the bill has affected enforcement efforts.”
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which approved the House version of the bill, said: “I welcome feedback from the Attorneys General as we continue working to combat the opioid crisis. It is of the utmost importance to this committee that we better understand how any legislative actions can improve the agency’s ability to prevent potentially addictive drugs from reaching our communities.”
The investigation showed that by defining language in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, drug industry supporters in Congress upended more than four decades of DEA practice. The new law made it virtually impossible for the DEA to impose an “immediate suspension order” on distributors of highly addictive painkillers that had failed to report suspicious orders of drugs such as oxycodone placed by pharmacies and other dispensers.
“This law was never intended to decrease the DEA’s enforcement against distributors and other registrants,” the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, which represents drug distributors, said in a statement. “If it is determined that there have been any unintended consequences that undermine the DEA’s ability to enforce the law and take legitimate actions to prevent prescription drug abuse, we stand ready to work with Congress to address them in all appropriate ways including legislative action.”
DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge John J. Mulrooney II wrote in an upcoming law review article that it is now “all but logically impossible” for the DEA to suspend a drug company’s operations for failing to comply with federal law.
The attorneys general made the same point, citing Mulrooney’s opinion.
Some Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), have called for repeal or amendment of the law in the wake of the media reports, and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he will hold an oversight hearing. But efforts to repeal the bill have stalled because no key Republicans have signed on.

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Shelby County mayor wins control of opioid lawsuit

Nov 14, 2017 | Commercial Appeal (TN)

By Ryan Poe

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell said he could make sweeping changes to an opioid lawsuit after wresting control of it from the County Commission on Tuesday in Chancery Court.
County Chancellor Jim Kyle ruled that the county charter gives Luttrell "sole contracting authority" — meaning the County Commission overstepped its bounds this month by hiring New York-based law firm Napoli Shkolnik to sue pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors for their role in the opioid crisis.
Kyle, after an hour of arguments and 13 minutes of deliberation, also ordered attorneys to cease work on the commission's lawsuit until the end of the year to give the administration time to craft a legal strategy and join the lawsuit.
"It is clear to this court the actions of the commission exceed the bounds of the charter," Kyle said, delivering his preliminary ruling from the bench.
Following the hearing, Luttrell said everything about the lawsuit is on the table as he brings the litigation back "in the lanes" — including the law firm; whether the defendants are manufacturers, distributors or both; and whether the county will work alongside the state attorney general on a lawsuit the state is considering filing.
"The bottom line: We are able to continue," Luttrell said of his office's work on a lawsuit.
Luttrell acknowledged the possibility that the county could itself face a lawsuit if Napoli is fired.
Commission chairwoman Heidi Shafer, who initially hired Napoli Shkolnik — perhaps best known for winning a class-action settlement for sick Ground Zero workers — said Kyle's ruling was a "win" for Shelby County and West Tennessee. Because the lawsuit was filed quickly and will continue, the county is in a better position, she said.
"It wasn't 100 percent win," she said. "Of course, I wish the judge would have dismissed (the administration's case)."
In a rebuke to the administration, which had argued there was no emergency need to file the lawsuit, Kyle said the county faced "irreparable harm" if the lawsuit was stopped. He also said it would be "inappropriate" for him to stop a case pending in Circuit Court.
"Time is of the essence," he said, setting the Dec. 31 deadline for the administration to take over the lawsuit.
But in the mayor's office, the ruling didn't seem like a win for commissioners. Not only would Luttrell not commit to preserving the most prominent points of the commission's lawsuit, he also wouldn't commit to signing off on commissioners' legal expenses. The commissioners hired Allan Wade, who also represents the Memphis City Council, while Napoli and other law firms hired former City Attorney Herman Morris as their counsel.
Attorneys Kirk Carraway and John Hensley, who represented the administration in the suit, declined to comment after the ruling.

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Council caught off guard by county plan to sue drug companies

Nov 15, 2017 | Deseret News (UT)

By Katie McKellar

While supportive of Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams' announcement that the county will be suing pharmaceutical companies for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic, some County Council members didn't like being caught off guard.
"Quite frankly, I was very surprised when I got the notice the same time as the media," Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton said during Tuesday's council meeting.
"It seems odd to me that we weren't notified or given the option to participate," she said.
She and Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, who both sit on a county opioid task force, told McAdams and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill they would have liked to be included in the discussion of litigation — and would like to be included in the future.
"I would wonder if there is not a recognition by the mayor and the D.A. that the policymaking body and the appropriating body has a hand in something that I would think is quite an enormous undertaking," Wilson said.
Wilson said she would imagine that the lawsuit won't be a "six-month deal," but rather a "multi-, multiyear investment."
"Is it your position the council has no role?" Wilson asked Gill.
Gill said state law gives the county executive — the mayor — authority in making decisions in litigation matters, so McAdams had the power to make the decision. If the lawsuit does result in a settlement, then the County Council would have power in deciding how the money would be appropriated, Gill said.
Newton asked McAdams if he would consider allowing the county's opioid task force to give input on the suit, but McAdams said he doesn't think the task force is the right place for a discussion of litigation strategy, which is usually done behind closed doors.
But, McAdams said, "We'd be happy to update the opioid task force on (the suit) from time to time."
Wilson also questioned whether the county would have the capacity to challenge an $11 billion industry with a yearslong lawsuit.
Gill said that's why the county would contract with an outside firm. When Wilson asked how much of a cut the outside firm would take, Gill said that hasn't yet been decided.
Wilson continued to be concerned.
"I support moving forward (with the suit)," Wilson said. I just think that this is a very, very complex initiative. I would question that you don't need more resources. I would question to do it effectively we're going to need to do it differently," she said, adding that attorneys can be "predatory" in lobbying for contracts that have the potential for a high reward.
However, Councilman Jim Bradley said he is confident in the county's resources.
"I have full confidence in our D.A. and full confidence in our mayor that they're going to be able to handle this," Bradley said.

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Herring: Hold drug manufacturers, distributors accountable for opioid oversupply

Nov 15, 2017 | Augusta Free Press (VA)

By Staff

In an effort to hold drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for the oversupply of opioid pain killers, Attorney General Mark Herring sent a letter late yesterday to congressional leaders, urging them to repeal the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016.
Attorney General Herring and a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general are calling on Congress to repeal the 2016 federal law that has severely limited the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) response to the opioid crisis. Since 2000, more than 300,000 Americans have died from overdoses involving opioids, including more than 1,110 Virginians in 2016 alone. The law’s impact on undermining efforts to stop the oversupply of opioids was previously revealed in a bombshell report by the Washington Post and “60 Minutes” in October.
“The ‘Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act’ needlessly limits the DEA’s ability to hold drug manufacturers and distributors responsible for the oversupply of opioid pain killers at a time when our agencies should have every tool necessary to respond to the devastating opioid crisis impacting our country,” said Attorney General Mark Herring. “I hope Congress will see why the DEA’s ability to issue immediate suspension orders is so important to keeping our communities safe and helping those suffering from addiction, and will take action to repeal this law.”
“In the midst of this deepening public health crisis – at a time when our nation needs every available weapon at its disposal to combat the opioid epidemic, the Act effectively strips the Drug Enforcement Administration of a mission critical tool, namely, the ability to issue an immediate suspension order against a drug manufacturer or distributor whose unlawful conduct poses an immediate danger to public health or safety,” the letter states. “We urge you to repeal the Act so that the public is protected and drug manufacturers and distributors may be held accountable for their actions.”
Joining Attorney General Herring in signing the letter are attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, and West Virginia.
Attorney General Herring has made combating the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic a top priority, attacking the problem with a multifaceted approach that includes enforcement, education, prevention, and legislation to encourage reporting of overdoses in progress, expand the availability of naloxone, and expand access to the Prescription Monitoring Program. He has supported federal efforts to improve the availability of treatment and recovery resources and made prescription drug disposal kits available across the Commonwealth.
Attorney General Herring recently outlined his recommended next steps for combating the crisis, focusing on law enforcement initiatives, support from the medical community, and recovery, treatment, prevention and education.

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Council caught ‘flatfooted’ by McAdams’ plan to sue drug companies over the opioid crisis

Nov 15, 2017 | The Salt Lake Tribune

By Jenifer Dobson

Salt Lake County Council members made two things clear Tuesday: they support the mayor’s decision to go after pharmaceutical companies over the opioid crisis, but they don’t much like how he decided to do it.
Specifically, they wanted to be included.
“That didn’t happen with this,” councilwoman Jenny Wilson said during a break in the council meeting.
Wilson said she and others council members were caught flatfooted Sunday when they learned through a news release that Mayor Ben McAdams plans to sue the pharmaceutical industry.
The county operates collaboratively across a host of issues — from homelessness to criminal justice and social services — and Wilson said it would have been nice to work together in this instance.
“It would have been polite and I think would serve the county taxpayers better if we had created and continued to be team players,” she said.
Wilson, who ran McAdams and District Attorney Sim Gill through a battery of questions about their plans at Tuesday’s meeting, was jointed in her frustration by Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton.
“It seems odd to me that we weren’t notified,” Winder said, before asking the mayor whether he might seek the opioid study group’s input on the suit.
McAdams declined, saying a task force was not the right forum for a discussion of litigation strategy.
State law gives the decision-making power in litigation matters to county mayors, so McAdams was within his right to decide the issue on his own, Gill told the council.
McAdams said he called Wilson, who co-chairs a county opioid task force, and the rest of the nine-member council Sunday to notify then and invited each to his news conference.
None attended
“I’d love the council’s support on this, but we’re moving ahead,” he said.
Should the county recover damages from a lawsuit, McAdams said, policy and budgetary decisions about how the money is used would fall to the council.
On Monday, McAdams and Gill told reporters the county plans to hire an outside law firm to bring a civil lawsuit to hold “Big Pharma” accountable for the toll that opioids have taken on its citizens and government resources.
Also Tuesday, the Utah County Commission passed a resolution stating its intention to also bring a civil lawsuit against drug companies that make and distribute opioids.
More than 100 such lawsuits have been filed against drug companies by states, counties and municipalities since 2015.
Those suits take a variety of approaches: Some seek financial damages sufficient to pay for increased addiction-related criminal justice, drug treatment and social service; others allege consumer or Medicaid fraud on the part of companies for failing to disclose the likelihood of addiction or for the payment of unnecessary prescriptions.
Wilson asked both Gill and McAdams whether the county had the capacity to challenge the $11 billion drug industry with a costly lawsuit that could go for years and would require sharing a cut of any award with a contracted law firm.
Both said it’s not the first time the county has taken on an industry or company: In 2016, the county sued Volkswagen over emission problems with its cars. That suit was consolidated with others into a single federal lawsuit, which is ongoing.
The complexity of such lawsuits is the argument for hiring a outside firm, Gill said.

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Broadcast Media Coverage

WRTV News: The News at Noon

Nov 14, 2017 | WRTV (ABC)

By Indianapolis, IN

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30691619?token=568a9743-5ef7-4358-87f2-f711ca66a579
Rough Transcript:news...the fight against the city's opiod epidemic is going to court. today indianapolis filed its federal lawsuit. 12:01 PMcall 6 chief investigator rafael sanchez in the newsroom with the details. 3 3 3 beth, the lawsuit is 171 pages and it goes after the distributors and manufacturers of opioids. the city and state as a whole facing an opioid crisis. but this legal action involves marion county alone. ten companies are targeted including purdue pharma, johnson and johnson, cephalon, and janssen pharmaceuticals. the lawsuit claims the companies were deceptive on how they marketed the drugs use, risk and safety. the complaint also goes after three distributors including amerisource bergen corporation, cardinal health, and mc kesson corporation. the city claims these companies failed to report suspicious orders of opiods that ended up in indianapolis. 3 this decision comes more than a month after mayor joe hogsett held a news conference announcing his plans to go after opioid manufacturersand distributors. the city's end goal is get all named to pay up for the financial burden the opioid crisis has placed on city services. 3 3 the lawsuit filed today---now the legal fight which could take years

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NewsCenter 16 at 11

Nov 15, 2017 | WNDU (NBC)

By South Bend, IN

Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/30691622?token=568a9743-5ef7-4358-87f2-f711ca66a579
Rough Transcript: the opioid crisis continues to tear families and lives apart.. . now, the city of indianapolis is pointing fingers at those manufacturing the drugs. a federal lawsuit filed by the city claims purdue pharma, teva and janssen misled "consumers and medical providers" abou the risks of their painkillers. . -the suit alleges the companies actions have forced indianapolis, and the surrounding county, to spend millions of dollars each year to help those afflicted by addiction. . -the city's lawsuit says they saw a dramatic increase in prescription painkiller use, that was directly caused by the companies' deceptive marketing... and failure to identify, report and stop suspicious orders of opioids.

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