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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 1/4/2018
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The Opioid Crisis Has Plaintiff Lawyers Smelling Cash
Jan 3, 2018 | The Wall Street Journal
By Dennis Kneale
America’s unrivaled pharmaceutical industry develops and manufactures more than half of the world’s new medicines and treatments. Its global dominance is due in part to the largely unregulated prices and uncapped profit margins that make America the world’s most lucrative market. Yet Big Pharma has an image problem: The industry has been tainted by the opioid crisis. -
MONROE COUNTY JOINS NATIONWIDE LAWSUITS AGAINST OPIOID MAKERS
Jan 3, 2018 | Spectrum News Rochester (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined nationwide litigation against drug companies over the opioid epidemic. -
Monroe County to sue Big Pharma over opioid epidemic
Jan 3, 2018 | Democrat & Chronicle (NY)
By Dan Dreatta
Monroe County plans to join scores of counties nationwide in suing pharmaceutical companies to recoup costs related to the opioid epidemic. -
Monroe County joins 100 counties nationwide in opioid lawsuit
Jan 3, 2018 | WHAM (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined more than 100 counties in the U.S. in a lawsuit against the companies that distribute, market and create opioid drugs. -
Monroe County joins nationwide lawsuit against opioid makers, marketers
Jan 3, 2018 | WHEC (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined a nationwide lawsuit against opioid makers, County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo announced Wednesday. -
Common Council approves opioid litigation
Jan 3, 2018 | Ithaca.com (NY)
By Matt Butler
City Attorney Ari Lavine has been authorized to pursue civil litigation against opioid manufacturers, joining a litany of other municipalities across the country looking for someone or something to blame for the opioid addiction crisis currently wreaking havoc on public services basically everywhere. -
Anne Arundel sues opioid manufacturers, distributors and local prescribers
Jan 3, 2018 | Capital Gazette (MD)
By Phil Davis
Anne Arundel County is targeting a number of players in the opioid industry in a new lawsuit, claiming everyone from the biggest manufacturers to local prescribers contributed to the local opioid crisis. -
Marquette County to join in statewide lawsuit against drug manufacturers over opioid crisis
Jan 3, 2018 | WLUC (MI)
By Donny Miller
Marquette County will officially be joining many other counties and cities within Michigan in a lawsuit against drug manufacturers and pharmacies over the opioid crisis. The decision was made Wednesday at the Marquette County Board of Commissioners organizational meeting. -
Commission moves forward with opioid lawsuit
Jan 4, 2018 | UpMatters.com (MI)
By James Filmore
The Marquette County Commission unanimously approved a resolution to address the opioid epidemic. -
Local communities file lawsuit against pain pill manufactures and distributors
Jan 3, 2018 | The Suburbanite (OH)
By Eric Poston
Area communities are coming together to fight the opiate epidemic, which continues to hold a strong grip on the local area. -
Lebanon to decide on joining lawsuit against drug manufacturers
Jan 3, 2018 | Dayton Daily News (OH)
By Lawrence Budd
The Lebanon City Council is expected to vote next week on whether to join local governments in seven states that have already filed more than 60 federal lawsuits claiming drug manufacturers and distributors have contributed to the deadly national opioid epidemic. -
Randolph County suing drug companies
Jan 3, 2018 | Greensboro News & Record
By Staff
Randolph County is taking Big Pharma to court over the opioid crisis that has caused a suspected 28 deaths here over a nine-month period. -
Buncombe County joins lawsuit against drug manufacturers
Jan 3, 2018 | Smoky Mountain News
By Staff
Buncombe County is taking a crucial step toward holding accountable the companies responsible for dumping millions of dollars’ worth of prescription opioids into the community by filing a public nuisance lawsuit against the drug manufacturers and wholesale drug distributors that made the opioid epidemic possible. -
Williamson County files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors
Jan 3, 2018 | Tennesean (TN)
By Eliana Sauber
Williamson County filed a federal lawsuit against several drug manufacturers and distributors on Wednesday, alleging the companies failed to comply with the federal Controlled Substances Act. -
Gov. Cuomo Unveils Litigious Agenda for New York State
Jan 3, 2018 | New York Law Journal
By Josefa Velasquez
During his 92-minute speech, Cuomo laid out a litigious agenda for this year, which includes filing a lawsuit against the federal government over the recently enacted tax bill on grounds it violates constitutional principles, and against pharmaceutical companies in connection with the opioid epidemic. -
TV6 Morning News
| WLUCDT2 (Fox)
By Marquette, MI
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660291?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b -
Good Day Rochester
Jan 4, 2018 | WUHF (Fox)
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660324?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b -
News 8 at 6am
Jan 4, 2018 | WROC (CBS)
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660384?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b -
FOX8 News at 6:00A
Jan 4, 2018 | WGHP (Fox)
By Greensboro, NC
Video LInk: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660361?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b -
Eyewitness News Daybreak 6:00
Jan 4, 2018 | WSOC (ABC)
By Charlotte, NC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660392?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b -
News 12 Long Island
Jan 3, 2018 | N12LI (News 12)
By New York, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660434?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b -
KETK Live at Five
Jan 3, 2018 | KETK (NBC)
By Tyler, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660448?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Wall Street Journal Editorial
Northeast (NY, MD)
Midwest (MI, OH)
Southeast (NC, TN)
Commentary and FYIs
Broadcast Media Coverage
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The Opioid Crisis Has Plaintiff Lawyers Smelling Cash
Jan 3, 2018 | The Wall Street Journal
By Dennis Kneale
America’s unrivaled pharmaceutical industry develops and manufactures more than half of the world’s new medicines and treatments. Its global dominance is due in part to the largely unregulated prices and uncapped profit margins that make America the world’s most lucrative market. Yet Big Pharma has an image problem: The industry has been tainted by the opioid crisis.
Pills that were developed to quell pain and restore quality of life to the sick and injured have contributed to an unprecedented wave of overdose deaths—about 64,000 in 2016. That’s more Americans dead in one year from opioids than were killed during the 19-year conflict in Vietnam.
Where there is death, plaintiffs’ lawyers follow. Lawsuits related to the opioid crisis could eventually grow into one of the largest torts since the $246 billion settlement exacted 20 years ago from the tobacco companies by attorneys general in 46 states. In the opioid onslaught, as in the tobacco case, a small gang of lawyers have teamed up with state, county and city governments to file lawsuits—more than 100 so far—against drug companies in various jurisdictions. Forty-one states have joined forces to subpoena information from Allergan Inc., Endo International , Johnson & Johnson ’s Janssen unit, and Teva Pharmaceuticals , the four biggest makers of opioids. The No. 1 target may be OxyContin creator Purdue Pharma. An October story in the New Yorker alleged that Purdue, owned privately by the Sackler family, had raked in billions of dollars by fabricating claims that the drug posed no risk of addiction.
The anti-opioid lawyers are aiming way beyond the manufacturers, targeting retailers for selling the drugs, doctors for prescribing them, and even wholesale distributors for transporting them. McKesson , the nation’s largest wholesale distributor of drugs to retailers, got scalped last month on “60 Minutes.” The program accused the San Francisco-based company of negligence for filling orders for millions of pain pills while failing to report suspicious patterns to regulators, as required. Even if McKesson had followed proper paperwork procedures, the segment implied, it still did wrong by shipping so many millions of pain pills.
The rush of lawsuits is accelerating, although just 23% of the drug-overdose deaths in 2016 involved narcotics that had been legitimately prescribed by doctors, according to government data. Almost 60% of overdose deaths in 2016 involved heroin, fentanyl and other street drugs. But drug dealers lack the deep pockets of drugmakers and retailers; like Willie Sutton, lawyers know to go where the money is.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers in the 1990s didn’t sue trucking companies for transporting cartons of cigarettes. But today’s litigants may be casting a wider net because of three clear differences between opioids and cigarettes. First, the drugs have therapeutic value that cigarettes don’t. Second, no one has yet been able to prove that drug companies lied about or covered up addiction risks the way tobacco companies did. Finally, opioids have long been regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, while cigarettes came under FDA oversight only in 2009.
These mitigating factors could shield the pharmaceutical industry from Big Tobacco’s fate, but certain ugly facts could end up costing drugmakers billions in damages, both financial and reputational. As the Charleston Gazette-Mail discovered in a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2016 investigation, wholesalers shipped780 million opioid pills into West Virginia between 2007 and 2012—enough to provide every man, woman and child in the state with 433 pain pills each.
Big Pharma needs to get out in front of this unfolding threat to the industry’s survival. Opioid makers should start by declaring a voluntary moratorium on the number of pills they produce and an end to their aggressive marketing to doctors and patients. They also could convene a public meeting of manufacturers, distributors and retailers to brainstorm ways of stemming the epidemic. Further consultations with doctors, nurses, patient representatives and addiction experts could help develop longer-term solutions.
Drug companies also should join forces and hire a veteran litigator from the tobacco wars to help them devise a pre-emptive settlement that sets up a fund to pay for medical treatment and addiction counseling. It’s going to be costly—$25 billion would be getting off cheap—but the costs of doing nothing could ultimately prove much higher.
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MONROE COUNTY JOINS NATIONWIDE LAWSUITS AGAINST OPIOID MAKERS
Jan 3, 2018 | Spectrum News Rochester (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined nationwide litigation against drug companies over the opioid epidemic.
County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo announced lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies that make, market and distribute opioid prescription drugs.
“The opioid epidemic has taken a heartbreaking human toll in every corner of our community and has placed a significant financial burden on local taxpayers,” said Dinolfo. “Monroe County today joined a lawsuit against the makers, marketers, and distributors of opioids who fanned the flames of addiction across our nation. We intend to hold these companies accountable for their actions in order to recoup costs for taxpayers and reinvest in increased prevention, treatment, and enforcement moving forward.”
The county has retained national law firm, Simmons Hanley Conroy, which represents more than one hundred other counties.
According to officials, there will be no net cost to the county as a result of joining the lawsuits.
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Monroe County to sue Big Pharma over opioid epidemic
Jan 3, 2018 | Democrat & Chronicle (NY)
By Dan Dreatta
Monroe County plans to join scores of counties nationwide in suing pharmaceutical companies to recoup costs related to the opioid epidemic.
County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo announced Wednesday that the county has retained the law firm of Simmons Hanly Conry, which represents more than 100 counties, including many in New York, and is spearheading the effort.
The county has yet to file its lawsuit. Like all of the counties involved in such litigation, Monroe County's claim would be an individual effort and not part of a class-action.
“The opioid epidemic has taken a heartbreaking human toll in every corner of our community and has placed a significant financial burden on local taxpayers,” Dinolfo said in a prepared statement.
“Monroe County today joined a lawsuit against the makers, marketers, and distributors of opioids who fanned the flames of addiction across our nation,” she added. “We intend to hold these companies accountable for their actions in order to recoup costs for taxpayers and reinvest in increased prevention, treatment, and enforcement moving forward.”
The move was not unexpected. A county spokesman said in November that the county would soon announce its intention to sue.
Data on opioid-related deaths and overdoses in Monroe County in 2017 has yet to be released in its entirety.
In 2016, however, there were 118 deaths and 468 emergency department visits attributed to heroin and other opioid abuse, according to the state Health Department. Paramedics and law enforcement officials administered the opioid overdose-reversal drug Naloxone 634 times that year, according to the state.
Simmons Hanly Conroy has a national reputation for handling toxic exposure cases, including asbestos and mesothelioma.
There will be no cost to Monroe County to initiate the litigation. The law firm will receive 25 percent of any settlement or award delivered at trial, county spokesman Jesse Sleezer said.
Similar opioid cases the firm has handled accused the pharmaceutical companies of engaging in deceptive practices, fraud and false advertising that misled doctors and patients into believing that the highly-addictive prescription painkillers were safe.
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Monroe County joins 100 counties nationwide in opioid lawsuit
Jan 3, 2018 | WHAM (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined more than 100 counties in the U.S. in a lawsuit against the companies that distribute, market and create opioid drugs.
Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo made the announcement Wednesday about the lawsuit. The litigation aims to recoup the various costs each county has incurred as a result of the opioid epidemic. The national law firm Simmons Hanly Conroy is handling the lawsuit.
The lawsuit will likely allege claims of deceptive acts and practices, false advertising, public nuisance, fraud, and unjust enrichment on the part of the involved pharmaceutical companies, among others.
“The opioid epidemic has taken a heartbreaking human toll in every corner of our community and has placed a significant financial burden on local taxpayers,” said Dinolfo. “We intend to hold these companies accountable for their actions in order to recoup costs for taxpayers and reinvest in increased prevention, treatment, and enforcement moving forward.”
Last September, the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office completed a "comprehensive review" of the number of deaths each year linked to opioids. That number went from 11 deaths in 2011 to 206 deaths in 2016.
Simmons Hanly Conroy currently represents over 100 counties nationwide in litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors, including Monroe, Suffolk, Erie, and Seneca Counties.
Taxpayers will not incur any cost as a result of joining the lawsuits.
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Monroe County joins nationwide lawsuit against opioid makers, marketers
Jan 3, 2018 | WHEC (NY)
By Staff
Monroe County has joined a nationwide lawsuit against opioid makers, County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo announced Wednesday.
The County will join over 100 others across the U.S. in the suit against drug companies that make and market opioid prescription drugs.
“The opioid epidemic has taken a heartbreaking human toll in every corner of our community and has placed a significant financial burden on local taxpayers,” said Dinolfo. “Monroe County today joined a lawsuit against the makers, marketers, and distributors of opioids who fanned the flames of addiction across our nation. We intend to hold these companies accountable for their actions in order to recoup costs for taxpayers and reinvest in increased prevention, treatment, and enforcement moving forward.”
Dinolfo says that she hopes to recoup taxpayer money spent to fight the opioid epidemic.
She added that joining the lawsuit won't lead to the loss of any more taxpayer money.
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Common Council approves opioid litigation
Jan 3, 2018 | Ithaca.com (NY)
By Matt Butler
City Attorney Ari Lavine has been authorized to pursue civil litigation against opioid manufacturers, joining a litany of other municipalities across the country looking for someone or something to blame for the opioid addiction crisis currently wreaking havoc on public services basically everywhere.
The measure was approved unanimously by the Council's 10 members, and will not cost the city any money. Technically speaking, the resolution declares the following:
"The City Attorney is hereby authorized to commence civil litigation against opioid manufacturers and others who have harmed the City by promoting the abuse of opioids and to retain counsel -- at no out-of-pocket cost to the City -- to represent the City in such litigation."
The resolution's language alleges that opioid manufacturers had "prior knowledge of the risks of opioids abuse, have misled doctors and patients about the addictive nature of opioids, have misrepresented the dangers of opioids, and have marketed opioids in a manner that promoted addiction."
The resolution is similar to legislation passed in November by the Tompkins County legislature, and is part of a wave of lawsuits targeting drug marketing by pharmaceutical companies in New York and the United States. The general gist of the municipalities is that the marketing campaigns conducted by the drug companies exacerbated the current opioid crisis.
Whether or not anything will come of the lawsuits is unknown, but it seems like a no-downside move for the city; if it's decided legally that plaintiffs are entitled to damages from "Big Pharma", Ithaca may stand to reap some financial benefit which could theoretically go to further address the city's drug problem.
Other news and notes from the first Common Council meeting of 2018, the Year of the Dog according to the Chinese calendar:A special proclamation was given to members of the city commissions dissolved by November's referendum. Copies of the proclamation will be sent to all members of those government bodies. Funding was officially released for two affordable housing projects in the city. Amici House, a 23-unit Tompkins Community Action housing project on Spencer Road was awarded $100,000, while West End Heights, the Lakeview Health Services project which would bring 60-units of affordable housing (along with housing for those with mental health issues) to the corner of Court Street and Meadow Street, received $150,000 of funding. The advancement of the Collegetown Design Guidelines and Downtown Design Guidelines were tabled until next month's meeting in order for further review by Council members. OurBus was approved to establish a bus route between Ithaca and New York City, which will run several routes to and from Ithaca and NYC throughout the week. There will be one bus leaving and arriving in Ithaca from Monday thru Thursday, which increases on Friday and over the weekend. Ithaca passengers will be picked up and dropped off at 131 East Green Street (except Friday 5 p.m. at 201 East Green Street), and will be picked up and dropped off at the New York Port Authority. Capacity will be 56. Alderperson Cynthia Brock said she had been informed by NYSEG that the Waterfront Trail may be closed for at least part of next winter as NYSEG conducts construction.
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Anne Arundel sues opioid manufacturers, distributors and local prescribers
Jan 3, 2018 | Capital Gazette (MD)
By Phil Davis
Anne Arundel County is targeting a number of players in the opioid industry in a new lawsuit, claiming everyone from the biggest manufacturers to local prescribers contributed to the local opioid crisis.
Filed Wednesday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court by the Washington D.C.-based firm of Motley Rice, the lawsuit names everyone from the manufacturer of OxyContin, the leading opioid painkiller, to prescribers based in Annapolis.
In many ways, the lawsuit mirrors what the firm has done across the country, working on behalf of different municipalities that are combating their own opioid addiction issues. The firm is representing four states and 12 other municipalities or counties in similar suits, according to its website.
The manufacturers and distributors listed in the lawsuit are companies that have come under increased scrutiny for their role in the nationwide issue.
They include Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, Endo Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Percocet, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Insys Therapeutics, the manufacturer of Subsys, a sublingual spray of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which officials say is magnitudes more potent than morphine and heroin.
They represent some of the largest opioid painkiller manufacturers in the industry, with drugs like OxyContin, Percocet and Subsys making for some of the most potent yet widely distributed prescription painkillers on the market.
As for local prescribers, the suit targets some of the same individuals and practices have been targeted by the state’s Attorney General’s Office for improper prescribing practices.
They include Kofi Shaw-Taylor, Happiness Aguzie, Tormarco Harris and Minnie Ndem, all former employees of Starlife Wellness Center in Glen Burnie. They were indicted on various drug-related charges earlier this year after they were accused of running a “Pill Mill,” with Shaw-Taylor leading the operation as its physician.
The suit also names physicians William Tham, Jackie Syme and Lawrence Vidaver, whose practices are based in Annapolis, Gambrills and Glen Burnie, respectively.
None of those from Anne Arundel County who are named in the lawsuit could be reached for comment Wednesday.
Of the larger players in the suit, Motley Rice echoed what have become larger criticisms of the industry in general.
Of Purdue Pharma — a private, family-owned corporation that earned more than $31 billion from OxyContin in 2016 — the firm claims that it engaged in deceptive marketing practices that “caused prescribing not only of their opioids, but of opioids as a class, to skyrocket.”
“Purdue Pharma informed and instructed doctors that OxyContin provided 12 hours of relief when Purdue knew that, for many patients, it did not,” the suit reads.
Of other manufacturers, the lawsuit claims the companies misled doctors and medical practices about their drugs’ effects.
“Manufacturing Defendants informed and instructed doctors that patients who did appear addicted were not; they were ‘pseudoaddicted’ and needed more opioids,” the suit reads. “Manufacturing Defendants informed and instructed doctors that opioids could be taken in higher and higher doses without disclosing the increased risk to patients.”
The suit also claims the manufacturers paid local physicians directly, specifically Tham.
“Between August 2013 and December 2015, Defendant Tham was paid over $100,000 from pharmaceutical companies,” the suit reads.
“Payments to Defendant Tham from Purdue, Teva, Janssen, Endo, and Insys constituted over 80 percent of payments made to all doctors in Anne Arundel County during the August 2013 to December 2015 time period,” the suit continues.
Calls for comment from Tham were not returned.
The lawsuit is similar to narratives against alleged bad actors playing out across the country. Large manufacturers and distributors enabling physicians and ignoring signs of abusive prescribing practices while engaging in deceptive marketing practices so as to keep opioid painkillers a common prescribing practice for treating pain.
“Defendants’ deceptive marketing created a cadre of doctors who looked for pain and treated it with opioids, which created an even broader cohort of patients who expected and required opioids,” the suit reads.
“In 2016, the County’s prescribing rate was 19 percent higher than the rest of Maryland,” the suit continues. “Notably, oxycodone was one of the opioids prescribed in large volume by pill mill doctors Defendant Shaw-Taylor, Defendant Aguizie, and Defendant Vidaver,” the suit reads.
The majority of the defendants in the suit declined to comment on the lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for Janssen Pharmaceuticals wrote in an email that the company believes “the allegations in the lawsuits against our company are both legally and factually unfounded.”
"Janssen has acted in the best interests of patients and physicians with regard to its opioid pain medicines, which are FDA-approved and carry FDA-mandated warnings about possible risks on every product label,” spokeswoman Jessica Smith said. "According to independent surveillance data, Janssen opioid pain medicines consistently have some of the lowest rates of abuse among these medications, and since 2008 the volume of Janssen opioid products always has amounted to less than one percent of the total prescriptions written per year for opioid medications, including generics."
In a statement, County Executive Steve Schuh said the companies “misleading and deceptive marketing practices and unethical prescribing practices have accelerated the opioid addiction epidemic in Anne Arundel County.”
The suit does not list a specific amount for damages.
Wednesday’s filing represents what has been a more aggressive approach by the county to tackle its ongoing opioid addiction problem, which claimed at least 152 lives in the county last year.
It remains to be seen how the lawsuit will proceed through the court as the firm says on its website that a similar suit it filed in Chicago in 2014 “was the first opioid-related case to survive motions to dismiss” and that the county of Santa Clara County, California reached a $1.6 million settlement with Teva Pharmaceuticals in May 2017.
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Marquette County to join in statewide lawsuit against drug manufacturers over opioid crisis
Jan 3, 2018 | WLUC (MI)
By Donny Miller
Marquette County will officially be joining many other counties and cities within Michigan in a lawsuit against drug manufacturers and pharmacies over the opioid crisis. The decision was made Wednesday at the Marquette County Board of Commissioners organizational meeting.
The manufacturer of Oxycontin, other drug makers, and big pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid will be involved in the lawsuit. Those suing claim that these companies are responsible for the opioid crisis, and distributed the drugs despite knowing the dangers.
The lawsuit is expected to take possibly years to resolve.
“Usually when you're taking on a big company they have a lot of money behind them, so it usually doesn't go fast,” said Board Chair Gerry Corkin. “But, I think there's a good case to be made and hopefully it will do some good.”
Marquette County will be joining with multiple cities and counties downstate as well as Escanaba and Delta County.
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Commission moves forward with opioid lawsuit
Jan 4, 2018 | UpMatters.com (MI)
By James Filmore
The Marquette County Commission unanimously approved a resolution to address the opioid epidemic.
Marquette County will join other cities and counties in the state by pursuing an individual lawsuit.
It attempts to hold opioid manufacturers responsible for the growing opioid problem.
Gerry Corkin is the board chairman. He says, "For dealing with this opioid epidemic some of the county departments like the jail, prosecutor's office and medical examiner just to name a few there's a lot of costs involved."
The Marquette County Prosecutor says one opioid overdose death costs the county around $3,000 in ambulance and autopsy costs alone.
A team affiliated with the lawsuit will now come to the area to work with county staff in gathering information.
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Local communities file lawsuit against pain pill manufactures and distributors
Jan 3, 2018 | The Suburbanite (OH)
By Eric Poston
Area communities are coming together to fight the opiate epidemic, which continues to hold a strong grip on the local area.
During a press conference in Summit County Council Chambers, 22 communities joined Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro in filing a lawsuit against three distributors of pain pills.
Joining the county is Akron, Barberton, Boston Heights, Boston Township, Clinton, Copley Township, Coventry Township, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Green, Lakemore, Mogadore, Munroe Falls, Norton, Peninsula, Richfield, Silver Lake, Stow, Springfield Township, Tallmadge, Summit County Public Health and Valley Fire District.
The lawsuit names 11 drug makers: Purdue Pharma. L.P.; Purdue Pharma, Inc.; Purdue Frederick Co. Inc.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA; Cephalon, Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.; Endo Health Solutions Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and Insys Therapeutics, Inc.
The three named distributor defendants are McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. and Cardinal Health. The lawsuit alleges these companies freely distributed opioids into Summit County. It also claims that the manufacturing defendants created the mass market for prescription opioids and the distributor defendants flooded it and are responsible for delivering opioids marketed and made by the manufacturing defendants to pharmacies throughout the country.
No tax payer dollars are being spent on the lawsuit.
Deputy Law Director Greta Johnson said the officials reached out to all 31 communities in Summit County to see if they wanted to join the lawsuit. She said the county went to cities, townships and villages and made presentations about what the county planned to do.
She said the decision was up to each community if they wanted to join, but some communities went their own direction in the fight against opiates.
“We will likely add more communities to the complaint,” Johnson said.
Shapiro said the lawsuit is an important step for the county in the opioid fight. In October 2017, she declared a county-wide emergency due to the effects of opioids.
“I am very proud to stand here with my colleagues,” Shapiro said.
The number of unintentional drug overdoses in Summit County rose from 56 in 2011 to 298 in 2016. Between 2012 and mid-August 2017, 1,053 Summit County residents have died from drug overdoses.
She said the lawsuit sends a strong message that the communities in Summit County are united.
Barberton Mayor Bill Judge said Barberton has been greatly impacted.
“We are losing a generation, a generation of young adults,” Judge said.
Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters said this lawsuit isn’t about the financial aspect, it is about protecting the next victim. Walters said Cuyahoga Falls was the first city to launch a quick-response team.
Summit County Health Commissioner Donna Skoda said addiction is a brain disease and the fight against opiates has been unfair.
“Public health is all about prevention,” Skoda said.
Attorney David Ackerman for Motley Rice said they are grateful to work with everyone and said by everyone coming together and that the county is taking an aggressive stand. Motley Rice has other opiate cases filed in Alaska, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Montana, South Carolina, Chicago and Santa Clara County in California.
Ackerman said the Summit County case could encounter delays and pushback from attorneys representing the drug companies.
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Lebanon to decide on joining lawsuit against drug manufacturers
Jan 3, 2018 | Dayton Daily News (OH)
By Lawrence Budd
The Lebanon City Council is expected to vote next week on whether to join local governments in seven states that have already filed more than 60 federal lawsuits claiming drug manufacturers and distributors have contributed to the deadly national opioid epidemic.
The public nuisance lawsuit would be part of multi-district litigation to be handled by a federal judge in Cleveland and brought by more than 60 local governments in Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Washington and West Virginia.
The litigation is designed to correct the range of problems caused by addiction to prescription painkillers and illegal drugs such as heroin, and to compensate for the costs to local governments.
Dayton is also part of the legal action.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster was appointed to handle the cases.
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Randolph County suing drug companies
Jan 3, 2018 | Greensboro News & Record
By Staff
Randolph County is taking Big Pharma to court over the opioid crisis that has caused a suspected 28 deaths here over a nine-month period.
The county commissioners voted Tuesday night during their January meeting to authorize a national consortium of lawyers to begin the process of filing suit, on behalf of Randolph County, against the major manufacturers and distributors of opioid drugs.
On hand to explain what a lawsuit would entail were attorneys Michael Fox and Paul Coates, both of Greensboro, and Ben Atwater of Siler City.
Public Health Director Susan Hayes and Emergency Services Chief Donovan Davis gave updates on what the county is doing about the opioid crisis.
Hayes talked about the Opioid Community Collaborative which connects several agencies and groups to educate the public and search for ways to help opioid addicts.
“We’ve seen a tremendous change in awareness,” she said.
Commissioner Stan Haywood, a pharmacist, said, “We must find some way to interrupt the tragedy going on around us. Until we get all of us aware and involved, the tragedy will go on.”
Davis told the commissioners that 90 Americans die each day from opioid overdoses. The total cost of the opioid epidemic to the U.S. economy, he said, is estimated at $78.5 billion annually.
Between April 1 and Dec. 15, 2017, Davis said, there were 28 suspected overdose deaths in the county. Since Jan. 1, 2017, overdoses led to more than 350 calls to Emergency Medical Services and other responders. Randolph County’s numbers per capita compare to the immensely larger Charlotte/Mecklenburg County area, he said.
Randolph County paramedics have begun offering help to overdose victims, including the opportunity to navigate them back to health. Those who refuse are offered alternatives such as clean needles and Narcan kits used to negate the effects of opioid overdoses.
Providing those services, Davis said, “will require funding. The victims are literally held hostage to the drugs and will do whatever they can to get them.”
The state’s largest opioid meeting in August helped people understand the magnitude, County Manager Hal Johnson said.
“Where does that leave Randolph County?” Johnson asked. “Government is responsible for the public’s health and safety. Who’s responsible to some degree for what’s happening?
“We’re looking at the cause of the problem and the cost of it to the county. Are we doing anything to strike back? Yes.”
Johnson then introduced Fox to the commissioners.
Fox said he, Coates and Atwater represent a national consortium of lawyers. Currently, he said, “we’re working with dozens of counties and municipalities in the state who need adequate resources for the problem.”
Fox blamed a “Big Three” of Fortune 500 companies who “sold doctors and pharmacists a bill of goods” concerning opioid medications, saying painkillers such as Oxycontin and Hydrocodone were not addictive. “They encouraged doctors to write prescriptions without telling them of the dangers.”
If the commissioners approved taking legal action, Fox said, it would not be a class action suit.
Fox said the lawsuit would be going after the “top of the food chain — the manufacturers and distributors who have made billions selling opioids, knowingly violating their own rules of doing business.”
He accused the large companies of ignoring instances of large amounts of drugs going to certain areas of the country, which they are supposed to report to the federal government.
“Our legal strategy will be to bring them to account,” Fox said, “declare them a public nuisance and take action to abate the problem.
“You have to hit them in the pocketbook,” he said of the big companies. “One company paid a $150 million fine for not following the rules but continued to do the same things.”
For that reason, he said, multiple lawsuits across the country should have an effect.
Commission Vice Chairman Darrell Frye asked Fox if Randolph County would just be getting into a long line of governments filing suit.
“We will file on your behalf and then go in with a group filing discovery,” Fox said. “There is strength in numbers. We would be in a better position to negotiate a good settlement. We’re not afraid of going to trial because we have compelling facts in the case.”
Haywood asked what would prevent the state, which is filing its own suit, from usurping any settlement to Randolph County. Fox said the lawyers have met a number of times with Attorney General Josh Stein, who gave no indication of doing such. Fox said that the state trying to take over the county’s settlement funds “would be a terrible political move. There are hurdles to them taking it over.”
Haywood then asked what would be the “stated purpose” of the lawsuit. Fox said the purpose would be to “stop the nuisance of the crisis and to recover the costs for damages and get money for future expenses.”
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Buncombe County joins lawsuit against drug manufacturers
Jan 3, 2018 | Smoky Mountain News
By Staff
Buncombe County is taking a crucial step toward holding accountable the companies responsible for dumping millions of dollars’ worth of prescription opioids into the community by filing a public nuisance lawsuit against the drug manufacturers and wholesale drug distributors that made the opioid epidemic possible.
Buncombe County is filing its suit against five of the largest manufacturers of prescription opioids and their related companies and against the country’s three largest wholesale drug distributors. According to a press release from Buncombe County, these manufacturing companies pushed highly addictive, dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients would only rarely succumb to drug addiction, while the distributors breached their legal duties to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids.
“We are taking this action today because the costs of this opioid crisis have overwhelmed our ability to provide for the health and safety of our residents. This epidemic has devastated our community and continues to claim an increasing number of victims from all walks of life,” said Commission Chair Brownie Newman. “These drug makers and distributors have brought this disease into our community,” said Vice-Chair Ellen Frost. “It is one of the biggest public health crises we have ever seen and it did not happen by accident. Rather, it is the result of the failure by drug makers to safely and responsibly market their branded opioids to doctors and patients in Buncombe County, and the negligence by wholesale distributors of their legal duty to monitor, identify and report suspicious activity as more and more opioids flowed into our community.”
The manufacturers 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, Norco, and generic versions of several opioids
The wholesale drug distributors listed as defendants in the lawsuit include:
• McKesson
• Cardinal Health
• AmerisourceBergen Drug
Because prescription opioids are a highly addictive substance, in 1970 Congress designed a system to control the volume of opioid pills being distributed in this country. It let only a select few wholesalers gain the right to deliver opioids. In exchange, those companies agreed to do a very important job — halt suspicious orders and control against the diversion of these dangerous drugs to illegitimate uses. But in recent years they failed to do that. According to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, from 1999 to 2016 more than 12,000 North Carolinians died from opioid-related overdoses. In Buncombe County, the number of opioid-related deaths increased by nearly 45 percent in 2016.
Buncombe County is working with a consortium of law firms to hold pharmaceutical wholesale distributors accountable for failing to do what they were charged with doing under the federal Controlled Substances Act — monitor, identify and report suspicious activity in the size and frequency of opioid shipments to pharmacies and hospitals. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over eight opioid prescriptions were dispensed for every 10 residents of Buncombe County in 2016.
The opioid epidemic has grown worse as people who were addicted to prescription pills have, thanks to heightened enforcement efforts, found them harder to come by. But the residents of Buncombe County continue to bear the burden of the cost of the epidemic, as the costs of treatment for addiction, education and law enforcement have continued to rise.
The county has hired expert law firms, experienced in holding the powerful pharmaceutical industry accountable. Those firms include: Baron & Budd; Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor; Greene Ketchum Bailey Farrell & Tweel; Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler; McHugh Fuller Law Group; Oths, Heiser, Miller, Waigand & Clagg; and Seif & McNamee.
Buncombe is seeking damages to cover the costs of services including, but not limited to: prevention, medical care and treatment for patients suffering from opioid-related addiction or disease; treatment of infants born with opioid-related medical conditions; costs associated with caring for children whose parents suffer from opioid addiction; and law enforcement and public safety services related to the opioid epidemic.
In addition to taking legal action Buncombe County continues its ongoing efforts to fight this epidemic, learn more at buncombecounty.org/closer.
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Williamson County files lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors
Jan 3, 2018 | Tennesean (TN)
By Eliana Sauber
Williamson County filed a federal lawsuit against several drug manufacturers and distributors on Wednesday, alleging the companies failed to comply with the federal Controlled Substances Act.
The lawsuit, filed in Tennessee's Middle District, names five of the nation's largest prescription opioid manufacturers and their related companies, as well as three major wholesale drug distributors, as defendants.
Nearly two dozen companies are named as defendants, including industry giants such as AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson and Purdue Pharma.
The lawsuit seeks to hold the defendants accountable for allegedly failing to follow federal requirements to "monitor, identify and report suspicious activity in the size and frequency of opioid shipments to pharmacies and hospitals," according to a press release issued late Wednesday afternoon.
The filing comes just weeks after Williamson County Commissioners voted to authorize the litigation at a special meeting on Dec. 11, 2017.
More than 1,630 Tennesseans died from drug overdoses in 2016, according to the Tennessee Department of Health – the highest annual number of deaths recorded in state history, and a 12-percent increase from the previous year.
"Based on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6 opioid prescriptions were dispensed for every 10 residents of Williamson County in 2016," the press release says.
The county has hired several law firms to help with the case. Those firms include: Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor; Greene Ketchum Bailey Farrell & Tweel; Baron & Budd; Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler; and McHugh Fuller Law Group.
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Gov. Cuomo Unveils Litigious Agenda for New York State
Jan 3, 2018 | New York Law Journal
By Josefa Velasquez
During his 92-minute speech, Cuomo laid out a litigious agenda for this year, which includes filing a lawsuit against the federal government over the recently enacted tax bill on grounds it violates constitutional principles, and against pharmaceutical companies in connection with the opioid epidemic.
“They’re robbing the blue states to give money to red states,” Cuomo said. “It is economic civil war and make no mistake, they are aiming to hurt us. We believe it is illegal and we will challenge it in court as unconstitutional.”
The GOP tax plan signed by President Donald Trump in December caps a deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000—the deduction was previously unlimited—which will increase the federal tax liability for homeowners in high-tax states such as New York and New Jersey. The tax plan is “violative of states’ rights and the principle of equal protection,” Cuomo charged.
In response to the federal tax bill, Cuomo said he would also soon announce a “major shift” in the state tax code that could “restructure the current income and payroll tax system.”
He said details would become available later this month.
More details on his proposal will be available later this month during the governor’s budgetary address.
A spokesman for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking the legal rationale for a potential lawsuit against the federal government over the tax reform legislation enacted last month. A spokeswoman for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has repeatedly sued the Trump administration, said the Attorney General’s Office is working with the Cuomo administration “on a legal response to Washington’s assault on New York taxpayers.”
In response to Cuomo’s announcement, state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, a Republican from Long Island, questioned the “legal basis” for the lawsuit. The Deputy Majority Leader, John DeFrancisco—who was formerly of counsel at Syracuse-based personal injury firm DeFrancisco & Falgiatano—also questioned how Cuomo could sue over the federal tax bill.
“We’re in a litigious society where people can sue for anything, it doesn’t mean you win … I don’t see it being a realistically successful lawsuit,” DeFrancisco told the New York Law Journal.
In his speech to the Legislature, Cuomo also announced plans to sue pharmaceutical companies for “perpetuating the opioid epidemic, ” as a growing number of counties in New York and across the United States already have.
“[Pharmaceutical companies] were conveniently blind to the consequences of their action. They pumped these pills into society and created addiction. Like the tobacco industry they killed thousands … We will make them pay,” Cuomo said.
Given the looming $4 billion budget deficit, Cuomo’s offered a modest legislative agenda that was light on expensive proposals. Instead, the Democratic governor offered several policy proposals, including a package to address sexual harassment in state and local government. Among his proposals is a plan to prohibit confidentiality agreements related to sexual harassment claims in government and void forced arbitration policies in employee contracts.
Cuomo also unveiled a number of proposals that had been long sought by criminal justice advocates: He proposed eliminating cash bail for people who were arrested on misdemeanor and nonviolent felony charges and expanded discovery rules.
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| WLUCDT2 (Fox)
By Marquette, MI
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660291?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Rough Transcript: the decision was made at the mar get county board meeting last night. the manufacturer of oxycontin and other drug makers and big pharmacies will be named in the suit. those suing claim that those companies are responsible for the opioid epidemic and distributed the drugs despite knowing the dangers. a lawsuit is expected to possibly takes years to resolve. >> we're taking on big companies with a lot of money behind them. it does not go fast. i think there is a good case to be made and hopefully it will do some good.
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Jan 4, 2018 | WUHF (Fox)
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660324?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Rough Transcript: monroe county is moving forward. the fight against opioid abuse by taking pharmaceutical companies to court. county executive cheryl dinolfo announced the county will join a national lawsuit taking aim at those who make and market the drugs. the hope is to recoup taxpayer costs incurred as a result of the opioid epidemic.
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Jan 4, 2018 | WROC (CBS)
By Rochester, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660384?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Rough Transcript: monroe county has joined a nationwide lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. ((vo)) the lawsuit seeks to recoup the costs incurred as a result of the opioid epidemic--things like healthcare and addiction treatment. it accuses manufacturers of deceptive practices, false advertisement and fraud - among other claims. more than one- hundred counties have taken part. it comes at no cost to taxpayers.
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Jan 4, 2018 | WGHP (Fox)
By Greensboro, NC
Video LInk: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660361?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Rough Transcript: another county filing a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. randolph county .. filing a federal lawsuit against 24-drug makers and distributors - according to the courier tribune. the county says the companies targeted vulnerable people like the elderly - and misled them about how addictive the drugs realy are. sury county filed a similar lawsuit earlier this week.
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Jan 4, 2018 | WSOC (ABC)
By Charlotte, NC
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660392?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Rough Transcript: taking on drugmakers, in a closed session last night, commissioners voted to sue opioid manufacturers. the county is finalizing an agreement. last night, randolph county leaders voting a similar action.
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Jan 3, 2018 | N12LI (News 12)
By New York, NY
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660434?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Rough Transcript: the opioid addiction crisis. "unscrupulos distributors developed a $400 billion industry selling opioids.." "we will make them pay for their illegal and reprehensible conduct.we will sue them and we willl stop the spread of opioids because too many innocent lives have been lst and the time for action is now."
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Jan 3, 2018 | KETK (NBC)
By Tyler, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/31660448?token=6b06a756-406d-4d86-8cf1-34740b49891b
Rough Transcript: barton:yesterday we told you about nacogdoches county. they were contemplating joing other east texas counties in a class-action lawsuit agaisnt opiods..now, they county announces they will join 27 others in suing pharmaceutical companies about opioid abuse.after having a day to look everything over, the commissioner's court decided to use a local law firm for the battle. commissioner elton milstead "we went with the recommendation actually of the county attorney and the district attorney's office they both had many questions they asked both firms and came up with a recommendation on this firm. there's a chance that we could get some of our money back that we've had by the opioid epidemic."neal barton:he adds, nacogdoches county has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic,and hopes this lawsuit will help. you should know
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