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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 1/15/18
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Trial date set for Oklahoma's lawsuit against opioid manufacturers
Jan 12, 2018 | News Oklahoma (OK)
By Chris Casteel
Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman on Thursday set a trial date for Oklahoma's lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, allowing the state attorney general's office to begin gathering evidence to back its claims that the drugmakers hid the addictive nature of their products. -
1st Trial Date Set in State Lawsuit Over Opioid Epidemic
Jan 12, 2018 | Associated Press
By Ken Miller
The first trial date has been set for a lawsuit by a state against pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic, according to Oklahoma's attorney general. -
Clay joins 35 counties in opioid lawsuit
Jan 12, 2018 | Storm Lake Pilot Tribune (IA)
By Joseph Hopper
The law firms of Simmons Hanly Conroy and Crueger Dickinson LLC filed the first Iowa federal court lawsuits Friday on behalf of Clay, Buena Vista, O’Brien and 33 other Iowan counties against pharmaceutical manufacturers to address the “opioid crisis.” The defendants in the lawsuits include Purdue Pharma L.P.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.; Cephalon Inc.; Johnson & Johnson; Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. -
Summit, Trumbull counties sue over opioids
Jan 14, 2018 | Daily Legal News (OH)
By Richard Weiner
Summit and Trumbull counties are among about a dozen counties and the state of Ohio suing pharmaceutical industry manufacturers and distributors over the opioid crisis, both jurisdictions announced. Both counties filed their respective lawsuits right before Christmas. -
Why Mecklenburg County is suing opioid manufacturers
Jan 13, 2018 | Charlotte Observer (NC)
By Path Cotham & Matthew Ridenhour
The opioid epidemic has wrecked families and communities across the nation. Perhaps you or your family, a coworker, a neighbor – likely someone you know has been impacted. It has broken homes, left people homeless, incarcerated, or dead, and has caused social services costs to skyrocket as cities and counties try to address this growing problem. Last week in Mecklenburg County, a little boy was left crying at his daddy’s funeral. Three young men have died since Christmas. Across the county, there were more than 525 overdoses last year, up from 361 the prior year. Unfortunately, we average more than one opioid-related death per week in Mecklenburg County. Our community has experienced the impact of the opioid epidemic throughout the county. -
City of Augusta filing suit against opioid manufacturers
Jan 14, 2018 | WJBF (GA)
By Staff
Augusta city leaders are joining the fight against opioid distributors and manufacturers. -
St. Lawrence County joins class action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies
Jan 14, 2018 | Watertown Daily Times (NY)
By W.T. Eckert
St. Lawrence County has joined eight other counties in the state in a class-action lawsuit against the major manufacturers of opioid drugs. -
Federal judge presiding over opioid litigation will hold Jan. 31 conference for settlement talks
Jan 12, 2018 | Cleveland.com (OH)
By Eric Heisig
A Cleveland federal judge who is presiding over more than 200 cases filed by government entities against drug manufacturers and distributors over the nation's opioid epidemic set a Jan. 31 conference for attorneys to continue settlement discussions. -
Ohio opioid woes one reason drug lawsuits brought to state
Jan 14, 2018 | Associated Press
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins
The role that drugmakers and drug distributors played in contributing to the nation's deadly opioid epidemic is now front and center in a federal courtroom in Cleveland. -
Opioid makers should pay for anti-addiction efforts (EDITORIAL)
Jan 14, 2018 | The Baltimore Sun (MD)
By Richard Bruno
Twenty years ago, four major U.S. tobacco companies paid $206 billion for misleading the American public about the dangers of smoking under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998. As tobacco companies have had to help pay for the cancer, emphysema, and other public health crises they helped cause by aggressively marketing dangerous products, it is now time for opioid manufacturers to pay their fair share for contributing to the opioid pandemic in our country. -
Opioid lawsuit: Discovery more the point than dollars (EDITORIAL)
Jan 14, 2018 | The August Chronicle (GA)
By Staff
It’s unlikely the city of Augusta will realize much of a windfall, if any, from joining a pack of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors to recover costs of the epidemic. -
necn TODAY
Jan 14, 2018 | NECN (NEWSENG)
By Boston, MA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062161?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1 -
KTVO News at 10
Jan 13, 2018 | KTVO (ABC)
By Ottumwa, IA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062162?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1 -
10:00pm Local News
Jan 13, 2018 | KHBBLP (ABC)
By Helena, MT
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062163?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1 -
Spectrum News All Evening
| SPNWSAU (Spectrum News)
By Austin, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062165?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1 -
11 News Sunday Morning
Jan 14, 2018 | WBAL (NBC)
By Baltimore, MD
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062168?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1
Oklahoma OAG Suit
Midwest (IA, OH)
Southeast (NC, GA)
Northeast (NY)
Commentary and FYIs
Broadcast Media Coverage
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Trial date set for Oklahoma's lawsuit against opioid manufacturers
Jan 12, 2018 | News Oklahoma (OK)
By Chris Casteel
Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman on Thursday set a trial date for Oklahoma's lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, allowing the state attorney general's office to begin gathering evidence to back its claims that the drugmakers hid the addictive nature of their products.
Balkman set the date for May 28, 2019. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said Thursday the state's lawsuit is the first to receive a trial date.
"That is a fast track to get this kind of a case tried, and we were happy with that decision,'' Hunter said in an interview.
The discovery process — gathering documents and witness testimony — "is going to be challenging and complicated," Hunter said, adding that the court is expected to appoint a special master to handle disputes over what the companies must disclose.
Hunter filed the suit last June against companies that made and marketed opium-based painkillers, claiming they misrepresented the risk of addiction and "touted unsubstantiated benefits."
"As far as we're concerned, the manufacturers are the bad actors here and they're the ones who started the brainwashing," Hunter said Thursday.
According to Hunter, about 2,700 Oklahomans have died from opioid overdoses in the past three years.
The state's lawsuit says Oklahoma led the nation in 2016 in milligrams of opioids distributed per adult resident. Hunter said Thursday that opioid addiction has cost billions of dollars in state money for health care, law enforcement, corrections and rehabilitation.
Dozens of states. local governments and tribes have filed suits against opioid manufacturers and distributors. The Cherokee Nation, the first major tribe to file a suit against wholesale distributors and pharmacy operators, was dealt a setback this week when a federal judge in Tulsa ruled that tribal court did not have jurisdiction in the case.
The state is suing Purdue Pharma, Allergan, Teva and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Sarah Freeman, spokeswoman for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, said, "We believe 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."
Purdue Pharma released a statement, saying, "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."
The company said, "We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge."
An Alllergan spokeswoman said the company had no comment Thursday on the trial date.
A statement from the company says, “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 percent of all opioid products prescribed in 2016 in the U.S. 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."
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1st Trial Date Set in State Lawsuit Over Opioid Epidemic
Jan 12, 2018 | Associated Press
By Ken Miller
The first trial date has been set for a lawsuit by a state against pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic, according to Oklahoma's attorney general.
Oklahoma, one of at least 13 states that have filed lawsuits against drugmakers, alleges fraudulent marketing of drugs that fueled the opioid epidemic in the lawsuit filed in June 2017, and seeks unspecified damages from Purdue Pharma, Allergan, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals and several of their subsidiaries.
"We appreciate the urgency Judge (Thad) Balkman saw in getting the case to trial," Attorney General Mike Hunter said. "Oklahomans who have suffered immeasurably from the years of fraudulent marketing campaigns will see this case resolved sooner rather than later."
Hunter said Balkman scheduled the trial to begin May 28, 2019.
The companies deny wrongdoing and say they complied with Federal Drug Administration requirements that include warning labels showing potential risks that come with using their drugs.
"We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis, and are dedicated to being part of the solution," Purdue Pharma said in a statement Friday. "We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense."
Teva spokeswoman Kaelan Hollon said the company "is committed to the appropriate use of opioid medicines," and complies with all state and federal drug regulations.
"Teva also collaborates closely with other stakeholders, including providers and prescribers, regulators, public health officials and patient advocates, to understand how to prevent prescription drug abuse without sacrificing patients' needed access to pain medicine," Hollon said.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office said other states that have filed lawsuits are Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina and Washington state.
The state lawsuits are separate from pending lawsuits in Ohio by dozens of local governments, and lawsuits by Native American tribes in the Dakotas and Oklahoma.
In Ohio, a federal lawsuit by local governments nationwide that makes similar allegations is pending. And in South Dakota, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate filed a federal lawsuit in January against 24 opioid industry groups.
In Oklahoma, a federal judge has ruled that another similar lawsuit by the Cherokee Nation cannot be tried in tribal court, and Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree told the Tulsa World that the tribe will re-file the lawsuit in state court.
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Clay joins 35 counties in opioid lawsuit
Jan 12, 2018 | Storm Lake Pilot Tribune (IA)
By Joseph Hopper
The law firms of Simmons Hanly Conroy and Crueger Dickinson LLC filed the first Iowa federal court lawsuits Friday on behalf of Clay, Buena Vista, O’Brien and 33 other Iowan counties against pharmaceutical manufacturers to address the “opioid crisis.” The defendants in the lawsuits include Purdue Pharma L.P.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.; Cephalon Inc.; Johnson & Johnson; Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Erin Dickinson, of Crueger Dickinson LLC, and lead counsel in the lawsuit, previously appeared before the Iowa State Association of Counties when gathering the class, which ISAC encouraged counties to join. Clay County did so during a board of supervisors meeting. Dickinson said the filing marked an important step to “hold those responsible.”
“Communities throughout Iowa are suffering as a result of the opioid epidemic,” Dickinson said. “Together with Simmons Hanly Conroy, we will work to get justice for the people of Iowa who have suffered unimaginable losses.” Burlin Matthews, Clay County supervisor and second vice president of the 2018 ISAC board of directors, explained why Clay County became involved in the lawsuit.
“Because opioids or any other type of illegal activity are going on, and people may be going to jail, we carry the cost for that. The idea of us as a county joining a class action lawsuit is, we would receive some costs that have already been expended for these people that have been arrested for opioids. It would provide an avenue for us if there’s a settlement to recover some costs directly through the jail and (county) attorney’s office. That’s the big impetus as far we’re concerned as a board.
“The reason that ISAC got involved was because ISAC is the organization that looks out for us as counties, representing us on lots of different phases,” Matthews said. “Just because we’re a county doesn’t mean we stand alone. That’s where ISAC comes in. One of the things they were looking into was the impact this is having on counties in their local jails because counties are paying for it. They knew there would be some class action lawsuits filed not only by the attorney general’s office but other organizations, lawyers. Our (ISAC) CEO Bill Peterson actually interviewed different companies in this problem, interested in having Iowan counties join this process. ISAC is getting nothing out of it themselves. They are just the go between.”
The lawsuits state that prescription opioid deaths in Iowa have quadrupled in the last 20 years, and rates of prescription opioid overdose deaths since 1999 in Iowa have increased with Polk County — a class member — making up 25 percent of those deaths.
The lawsuit also states that “the defendants sought to create a false perception in the minds of physicians, patients, health care providers and health care payors that using opioids to treat chronic pain was safe for most patients and that the drugs’ benefits outweighed the risks. This was allegedly perpetrated through a civil conspiracy involving a coordinated, sophisticated and highly deceptive (unbranded ato evade the extensive regulatory framework governing branded communications) promotion and marketing campaign that began in the late 1990s, became more aggressive around 2006, and is ongoing. Specifically, the complaints detail how the defendants allegedly poured significant financial resources into generating articles, continuing medical education courses and other ‘educational’ materials, conducting sales visits to doctors, and supporting a network of professional societies and advocacy groups — all of which were successful in the intended purpose of creating a new and phony ‘consensus’ supporting the long-term use of opioids.
Other counties involved in the lawsuit include: Adair, Adams, Audubon, Benton, Bremer, Buchanan, Calhoun, Carroll, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Dallas, Delaware, Fayette, Hamilton, Hardin, Humboldt, Johnson, Lee, Mahaska, Marion, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Plymouth, Polk, Pottawattamie, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Taylor and Winneshiek.
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Summit, Trumbull counties sue over opioids
Jan 14, 2018 | Daily Legal News (OH)
By Richard Weiner
Summit and Trumbull counties are among about a dozen counties and the state of Ohio suing pharmaceutical industry manufacturers and distributors over the opioid crisis, both jurisdictions announced. Both counties filed their respective lawsuits right before Christmas.
“This holiday season, too many children are without their parents, too many mothers and fathers are without their sons and daughters and many, many others are desperately struggling to get their lives back on track,” said Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro in a statement. “All of these heart-wrenching stories originate at the hands of opioid manufactures and distributors.”
Summit County was joined by 21 county communities, including Akron, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls and Stow. Both suits were filed in each county’s respective common pleas courts. Both counties have engaged outside counsel.
Summit County lists 13 named defendants and up to 50 John and Jane Does in its 140-page complaint.
Trumbull County’s complaint is 270 pages long. Both list numerous specific instances and statistics to accuse the defendants of creating the crisis through a series of decisions based on “corporate greed”—decisions that have allegedly cost communities lives, money and social stability.
The Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a trade group representing some of the defendants released a statement saying that, while they recognize the negative impact that the opioid crisis has had on communities, they were not “willing to be scapegoats. Distributors are logistics companies” that distribute, transmit and store these drugs based on physicians’ prescriptions.
The Trumbull County lawsuit spoke to this issue by alleging that “the defendants knew or should have known that they were supplying vast amounts of dangerous drugs. The defendants were in a unique position and had a duty to inspect, report, or otherwise limit” the drugs.
The various counties who have filed these lawsuits so far are not engaged in a coordinated effort, and have not broached the idea of consolidating their cases, said Greta Johnson, the deputy law director for Summit County who is running point on the lawsuit for the county.
“We felt it was important to bring together our communities and differentiate our particular damages,” she said.
Outside counsel for Summit County are South Carolina-based firm Motley Rice LLC as lead and Akron’s Brennan, Manna and Diamond LLC as local counsel.
Trumbull County has engaged four outside firms led by Cleveland’s Plevin & Gallucci. That firm also represents Cuyahoga County in a similar suit.
Johnson said that Motley Rice was chosen because of their vast experience in suing large companies on behalf of communities, including their involvement in tobacco litigation.
The firm is working on a 25 percent contingency basis.
“It was important to us that the communities had no up-front expenses,” she said.
The Trumbull County outside counsel is also working for a contingent fee, according to reports.
The suits are being driven by very specific community costs, said Faylin Mutch, spokesperson for Summit County.
Among many telling statistics supplied by Mutch, Summit County has spent an estimated $112 million in taxpayer funds in the last five years dealing with drug issues and opiates, and is projecting more than $150 million in similar expenses for the next five years.
Experts estimate that four out of five heroin addicts start their addiction with prescription painkillers abuse, a theory that connects drug companies to the community costs of illegal drug problems.
Beyond the financial impact, Summit County experienced nearly 400 accidental overdoses in the last four months of 2017, as well as more than 7,000 overdoses and over 1,000 deaths since 2012.
The problem continues to get worse, as more people died from overdoses in 2016 and 2017 than in the entire previous decade.
All of those problems affect the families involved.
Summit County Children’s Services estimates that $15 million will be spent placing children into homes other than their parents because of the crisis—a figure that is up 22 percent since 2012.
Trumbull County’s suit alleges that the defendants had for years changed the industry approach toward opioids from drugs that were used in severe cases of pain to drugs that were used more commonly, and therefore sold in greater quantities. The more drugs were made, the more they showed up on the streets.
Trumbull County as well alleged that the opioid crisis has increased 911 calls, overdose deaths and intervention by Children’s Services.
Although numerous lawsuits of this type are being filed across the state and country, nobody expects quick resolution, said Johnson.
“None of these cases has been settled yet,” she said.
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Why Mecklenburg County is suing opioid manufacturers
Jan 13, 2018 | Charlotte Observer (NC)
By Path Cotham & Matthew Ridenhour
The opioid epidemic has wrecked families and communities across the nation. Perhaps you or your family, a coworker, a neighbor – likely someone you know has been impacted. It has broken homes, left people homeless, incarcerated, or dead, and has caused social services costs to skyrocket as cities and counties try to address this growing problem. Last week in Mecklenburg County, a little boy was left crying at his daddy’s funeral. Three young men have died since Christmas. Across the county, there were more than 525 overdoses last year, up from 361 the prior year. Unfortunately, we average more than one opioid-related death per week in Mecklenburg County. Our community has experienced the impact of the opioid epidemic throughout the county.
Your Mecklenburg County commissioners unanimously approved moving forward with a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers for their role in causing harm to our community. This decision was not made lightly, and we know that approving this action was the first step in a long journey. It is an important step. Drug manufacturers told doctors and individuals that their product is non-addictive, and can be used for long-term pain management. That is not true. Unfortunately for many individuals, using the drug for a long period of time causes an addiction. The statements made, and incentives offered by drug manufacturers and distributors, created a system whereby pills flowed freely across Mecklenburg County, our state and the nation. In Ohio, at one point there were enough pills dispensed for every man, woman and child in the state to have more than 60 pills. People are responsible for their decisions and what they put into their bodies. With opioids, though, many people made that choice thinking the drug was safe and non-addictive.
The true impact of the opioid epidemic may never be truly known. Many families do not report overdoses or addiction due to a sense of embarrassment or shame. It is sad that society marks those addicted to pharmaceutical drugs with a “scarlet letter,” resulting in those affected not seeking help! We must end the stigma. Last week, one man who is homeless uptown told us, “I cannot tell my family in North Mecklenburg that I am addicted and on the street – they would be mortified.” Students, soccer moms, bankers and even medical professionals have all been affected by this epidemic.
There is hope. Counties across the nation, including Pitt, Buncombe, Gaston and others in North Carolina, are filing suit against drug manufacturers and distributors, in order to collect damages on behalf of their communities. Mecklenburg County will fight, and fight hard, on your behalf and for all those impacted by this epidemic. This lawsuit will not cost taxpayer dollars, as the attorney fees will be paid from the damages. We will use the damages awarded for treatment, rehabilitation and education. Your county staff, along with incredible community partners and volunteers across the county, work tirelessly to help those who need treatment and support. We as a nation and community did not pay much attention to the precious lives lost due to the crack cocaine epidemic. Let us not repeat those mistakes, but instead hold accountable those who have contributed to this national epidemic. Let us stand with those who face addiction, that they may not face it alone.
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City of Augusta filing suit against opioid manufacturers
Jan 14, 2018 | WJBF (GA)
By Staff
Augusta city leaders are joining the fight against opioid distributors and manufacturers.
Mayor Hardie Davis says the city has filed a lawsuit against five manufacturers of prescription opioids and three drug distributors.
Augusta is joining a growing a list of city and county governments that are taking action against companies for fueling the opioid crisis.
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St. Lawrence County joins class action lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies
Jan 14, 2018 | Watertown Daily Times (NY)
By W.T. Eckert
St. Lawrence County has joined eight other counties in the state in a class-action lawsuit against the major manufacturers of opioid drugs.
The action was filed Friday with the county clerk’s office.
St. Lawrence County lawmakers previously voted 10-3 in favor of joining the other lawsuits, initially filed individually in state Supreme Court in each county. The actions will now be consolidated in state Supreme Court in Suffolk County and heard by State Supreme Court Justice Jerry Garguilo.
Named in the action are Purdue Pharma L.P.; Purdue Pharma Inc.; The Purdue Frederick Co. Inc.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.; Cephalon Inc.; Johnson & Johnson; Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.; Endo Health Solutions Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Insys Therapeutics Inc.; Dr. Russell Portenoy; Dr. Perry Fine; Dr. Scott Fishman; and Dr. Lynn Webster.
According to the lawsuit, each year St. Lawrence County spends millions of dollars for the health care, pharmaceutical care and other necessary services and programs for “indigents” and otherwise eligible residents, including payments for prescription opioid painkillers which are manufactured, marketed, promoted, sold, and/or distributed by the named defendants.
Legislature Chairman Kevin D. Acres, R-Madrid, cast one of the three dissenting votes, but said Friday he accepts the decision to join the class action.
“As the chair, I feel compelled to support the will of the majority,” he said. “We do have tremendous costs in our opioid and heroin crisis in St. Lawrence County that the taxpayers have been picking up, so this will be an effort to retrieve some of that funding to help support the cause: child support, foster care, treatment, both mental and physical, and all of the assorted sociological stuff that goes with it, because families are destroyed by drugs.”
The lawsuit identifies opioids as brand-name drugs including OxyContin and Percocet and generics including oxycodone and hydrocodone.
“Defendants knew that, barring exceptional circumstances, opioids are too addictive and too debilitating for long-term use for chronic non-cancer pain lasting three months or longer (“chronic pain”),” the lawsuit states.
And while the drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the lawsuit accused the defendants of having “manufactured, promoted, and marketed opioids for the management of pain by misleading consumers and medical providers through misrepresentations or omissions regarding the appropriate uses, risks, and safety of opioids.”
Although no long-term studies support their assertions, the lawsuit says, the defendants —“in order to expand the market for opioids and realize blockbuster profits” — have “sought to create a false perception of the safety and efficacy of opioids in the minds of medical professionals and members of the public that would encourage the use of opioids for longer periods of time and to treat a wider range of problems, including such common aches and pains as lower back pain, arthritis, and headaches.”
The lawsuit claims the defendants accomplished their goal by convincing doctors, patients and others that the benefits of using opioids to treat chronic pain outweighed the risks, and that opioids could be used safely by most patients.
The county signed a contract with Simmons, Hanly, Conroy P.C., a law firm that specializes in pharmaceutical class-action litigation, said County Attorney Stephen D. Button.
Simmons has filed similar lawsuits in Broome, Dutchess, Erie, Orange, Schenectady, Seneca, Suffolk and Sullivan counties.
“St. Lawrence County, like many others across the state, has suffered great losses due to the defendants’ recklessness and negligence about the long-term effects of opioid use,” Mr. Button said Friday afternoon in a news release issued by Simmons.
According to the lawsuit, at least 44 St. Lawrence County residents died of opioid overdoses between 2003 and 2014.
In 2014, the county saw 177 opioid-related emergency ward admissions, a 108.2 percent increase since 2010, and 828 hospital admissions for the same reason.
“There were 645 St. Lawrence County residents admitted into chemical dependence treatment programs in 2016,” Mr. Button wrote. “Additionally, in 2016 officials reported a total of 61 naloxone administration events, though actual numbers of administration events may be higher.”
“St. Lawrence County is the latest to join a growing list of New York counties to conclude that drug companies must be held responsible for their fraudulent and deceptive role in causing the worst drug epidemic the country has ever seen,” Simmons shareholder Paul Hanly, lead counsel for the county in this case, said in the release. “The defendants in the case for St. Lawrence County and the other New York counties have long known about the addictive qualities and other risks associated with prolonged use of opioids. They must be held accountable for the misrepresentations and the harms to society they have caused.”
The county seeks relief that includes compensatory and punitive damages “for the millions of dollars it spends each year to combat the public nuisance created by the drug companies’ deceptive marketing campaign that misrepresents the safety and efficacy of long-term opioid use,” according to the release.
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Federal judge presiding over opioid litigation will hold Jan. 31 conference for settlement talks
Jan 12, 2018 | Cleveland.com (OH)
By Eric Heisig
A Cleveland federal judge who is presiding over more than 200 cases filed by government entities against drug manufacturers and distributors over the nation's opioid epidemic set a Jan. 31 conference for attorneys to continue settlement discussions.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster wrote in an order issued Thursday that the conference will consist of two sessions.
One will "educate the Court and each other on supply-chain dynamics and other issues relevant to resolving" the lawsuits, while the second will be to pursue settlement talks, the order states.
In addition to attorneys involved in the cases he presides over, Polster told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had invited representatives from two groups of attorneys general to attend the hearing. One group, led by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, consists of those who have filed lawsuits, which includes Ohio. The other, larger group has joined a multistate investigation into the industry, according to the AP.
Polster is also wants representatives of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration to be there, his order states.
DeWine, who is litigating his lawsuit against drug makers and distributors in Ross County, told cleveland.com's Capitol Letter that he spoke to Polster on Wednesday and decided to attend.
DeWine met Wednesday with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Johnson & Johnson in what he described as the first settlement meeting. His anticipated attendance at Polster's upcoming hearing doesn't necessarily mean Ohio will join the other federal lawsuits he said.
The U.S. District Panel on Multidistrict Litigation appointed Polster in December to preside over a swath of federal litigation over the nation's opioid crisis. Polster took the bench in 1998 and has a track record of brokering settlements.
The lawsuits allege that drug manufacturers overstated the benefits and downplayed the risks of addiction when treating pain with opioids, and that distributors failed to properly monitor suspicious orders of prescription painkillers.
Polster told the hundreds of lawyers who attended the first hearing Tuesday that he would like to see an all-encompassing settlement struck in 2018 that would put money toward treating opioid addiction.
"In my humble opinion, everyone shares some of the responsibility, and no one has done enough to abate it," Polster said. "That includes the manufacturers, the distributors, the pharmacies, the doctors, the federal government and state government, local governments, hospitals, third-party payers and individuals. Just about everyone we've got on both sides of the equation in this case."
The judge on Thursday also appointed three special masters to help with the litigation. They are: David Cohen of Cleveland, Francis McGovern of Houston and Cathy Yanni of San Francisco.
The special masters will work with the judge and the parties, help mediate resolution and help coordinate any litigation or governmental actions, among performing other duties.
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Ohio opioid woes one reason drug lawsuits brought to state
Jan 14, 2018 | Associated Press
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins
The role that drugmakers and drug distributors played in contributing to the nation's deadly opioid epidemic is now front and center in a federal courtroom in Cleveland.
Judge Dan Polster is overseeing more than 200 lawsuits against drug companies brought by local communities across the country, including those in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. The lawsuits have been consolidated into what is known as "multidistrict litigation," an approach taken when lawsuits of a similar nature are filed around the country.
The consolidation comes in the midst of the most widespread and deadly drug crisis in the nation's history. The government tallied 63,600 overdose drug deaths in 2016, another record. Most of the deaths involved prescription opioids such as OxyContin or Vicodin or related illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.
A look at the lawsuits and the consolidation process:
HOW CASES ARE CHOSEN FOR CONSOLIDATION
Congress created the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation 50 years ago this year. The panel's responsibilities are determining whether civil lawsuits pending around the country are similar enough to be combined, and to select a judge or judges to oversee them. Consolidated cases can involve airplane crashes, train wrecks or hotel fires, or lawsuits over defective products, such as lawsuits consolidated in Miami recently against Japanese auto-parts supplier Takata over its air bag inflators.
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WHY OPIOID CASES WERE CONSOLIDATED IN OHIO
The panel cited three reasons in its decision last month to center the cases in Cleveland. First is Ohio's own experience with overdose deaths and attempts to slow the epidemic. In 2016, a record 4,050 Ohioans died of overdoses, a number expected to rise again for 2017. Next is Cleveland's proximity to various drugmakers' headquarters in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, which is home to drug distributor Cardinal Health. Finally, the panel cited Polster's experience on a previous consolidated case involving damage claims related to dyes used in magnetic resonance imaging procedures. That case, which involved several hundred cases, "has provided him valuable insight into the management of complex, multidistrict litigation," the panel ruled. Polster was nominated in 1997 by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and confirmed and sworn in as judge in 1998.
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WHO IS SUING
The communities suing are cities or counties adversely affected by the opioid crisis. Municipalities added to the case last week include Guayanilla in Puerto Rico, Jefferson Davis County in Mississippi and the city of New Castle, Indiana. Other communities include hard hit cities like Portsmouth, Ohio and Huntington, West Virginia, and Henderson County in Kentucky. Polster's courtroom isn't the only place where lawsuits are being heard against drugmakers. Some government bodies, including Ohio and at least nine other states, are suing the industry in state courts. Additionally, most states have joined a multistate investigation of the industry that could end up sparking a settlement or yet more litigation against the industry.
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WHAT THE LAWSUITS ALLEGE
The lawsuits accuse drugmakers of using deceptive marketing to push the sale of opioids and targeted painkillers at vulnerable populations like the elderly and veterans. Allegations against distributors accuse them of lax product oversight and of ignoring suspicious orders of large quantities of painkillers. Targets of the lawsuits include drugmakers such as Allergan, Johnson & Johnson, and Purdue Pharma, and the three large drug distribution companies, Amerisource Bergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. Drug distributors and manufacturers named in these and other lawsuits have said they don't believe litigation is the answer but have pledged to help solve the crisis.
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LAWSUIT DURATION
Such lawsuits with multiple jurisdictions can drag on for years, although one goal of consolidation is to cut down on redundant filings that can lead to delays. Polster has said he wants to move quickly, noting that hundreds of people would die in the U.S. from overdoses just during a Jan. 9 hearing.
"My objective is to do something meaningful to abate this crisis and do it in 2018," Polster said, adding: "With all these smart people here and their clients I'm confident we can do something to dramatically reduce the number of opioids that are being disseminated, manufactured and distributed."
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Opioid makers should pay for anti-addiction efforts (EDITORIAL)
Jan 14, 2018 | The Baltimore Sun (MD)
By Richard Bruno
Twenty years ago, four major U.S. tobacco companies paid $206 billion for misleading the American public about the dangers of smoking under the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998. As tobacco companies have had to help pay for the cancer, emphysema, and other public health crises they helped cause by aggressively marketing dangerous products, it is now time for opioid manufacturers to pay their fair share for contributing to the opioid pandemic in our country.
For decades, manufacturers of pain medications — like Purdue Pharma, which makes Oxycontin — have knowingly relied on unscrupulous evidence to undersell the risks of opioids to doctors and the public alike. They have often cited dubious sources, like a now-infamous 1980 letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine in which the authors claimed that less than one percent of people treated with narcotics become addicted. Meanwhile, millions of Americans have become addicted and many thousands have died from overdoses of opiate-based pain medications and their illicit, less expensive analog, heroin.
Estimates of the societal cost of opioid addiction and related deaths put the figure at $193 billion. In our state alone, opioids have claimed the lives of 2,400 Marylanders just this past year.
Yet after causing millions to become addicted and making billions of dollars in the process, pharmaceutical companies have not repaid their debt to society. Anne Arundel County’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors and prescribers, is likely to be one of many targeting these companies for the reckless endangerment they have been engaging in for years.
If there are settlement monies from these lawsuits, the funds should be used to address the opioid overdose crisis at three different levels: upstream, midstream and downstream.
Upstream approaches prevent people from falling into the river of addiction in the first place by investing in efforts to decrease inappropriate prescribing of opioids. This can be done by integrating prescription drug monitoring databases into electronic health records, so prescribers can ensure people are not receiving multiple prescriptions. It can also be accomplished by mandating better insurance coverage for non-opioid therapies and creating educational opportunities for prescribers to keep up with evidence-based guidelines and recognize the signs of addiction.
Midstream approaches help treat people who are already struggling with addiction by preventing them from overdosing — going over the waterfall’s edge. According to the Behavioral Health Systems of Baltimore, 7,300 people in our city who need it do not have access to medication-assisted treatment like methadone, suboxone or naltrexone. We need more prescribers to provide these therapies so those living with addiction can remain functional, contributing members of society. We need to maintain supervised injection facilities and needle-exchange vans to provide active users with clean supplies and safe environments so they don’t acquire HIV, Hepatitis C or skin infections, while also offering to connect people with immediate detox options. When people can’t afford or access oxycodone, that’s when they often turn to heroin as the cheaper alternative. Finally, midstream approaches require adequate investments in law enforcement to reduce heroin trafficking.
Downstream approaches prevent people from dying from an overdose. These include investing in expanded access to the antidote naloxone, including Uber-like apps that alert naloxone carriers nearby of an overdose so they can intervene. Unfortunately, this medication is a paper life preserver: It dissolves in 15 minutes, leaving the recipient at risk of further decline unless treated immediately by health care professionals. Still, such emergency interventions are crucial to treating the hundreds of overdoses that happen each year in our city.
The severity of this crisis requires bold, evidence-based approaches, and it is time to get all hands on deck. If the pharmaceutical companies who put people’s lives at risk by aggressively marketing dangerous products don’t voluntarily pitch in to fund sensible solutions, then the courts who hear cases brought by cities, counties and state attorneys general against opioid manufacturers should settle in favor of the victims whose lives have been torn apart by negligence and greed.
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Opioid lawsuit: Discovery more the point than dollars (EDITORIAL)
Jan 14, 2018 | The August Chronicle (GA)
By Staff
It’s unlikely the city of Augusta will realize much of a windfall, if any, from joining a pack of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors to recover costs of the epidemic.
For one thing, there’s no assurance any monetary awards will be forthcoming.
For another thing, the lead law firm in the case, Dallas, Texas-based Baron and Budd, is representing some 185 cities and counties around the nation. After the law firm’s take of up to 50 percent of damages, and divvying up what’s left, there isn’t likely to be that much per locality.
We also recoil at the notion of predatory lawsuits, with law firms trolling for victims with which to punish U.S. industries. Not that this is one of them, but such practices have become problematic.
Rather, the chief benefit of the opioid lawsuits, which could take up to five years or more to resolve, might be what lawyers call “discovery.”
In a case such as this, that means the plaintiffs can demand relevant documents, correspondence and testimony from the drug companies about what they knew about the epidemic and when, and what they did or didn’t do about it commensurate with their legal duties.
In short, we may find out whether drug companies have acted responsibly or not in the midst of one of America’s worst modern-day epidemics.
Preliminary information indicates Augusta and environs has seen higher-than average prescribing of opioids, which include such drugs as morphine, hydrocodone, fentanyl and methadone.
“Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics (show) opioid prescribing rates in Augusta are above the national average of 66.5 per 100 people,” writes The Chronicle’s Susan McCord. “In 2016, the rate was 86.8 prescriptions per 100 people in Augusta while in neighboring Columbia County, the 2016 rate was 81 prescriptions per 100 people.”
If such lawsuits get to the truth, then they will have been well worth it.
But we should probably be more expectant of answers than money.
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Jan 14, 2018 | NECN (NEWSENG)
By Boston, MA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062161?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1
Rough Transcript: alleged fradulant drug marketing -- won't see their day in court until next may. the first trial date will take place may 28th, 2019. new hampshire is one of at least 13 states filing a suit against the drugmakers... saying their makerting fueled the opioid epidemic. the campnies -- including allergan, janssen and teva pharmaceuticals -- deny any wrongdoing.
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Jan 13, 2018 | KTVO (ABC)
By Ottumwa, IA
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062162?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1
Rough Transcript: a federal class action lawsuit filed by hospitals claims that pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors created the opioid crisis that kills tens of thousands of people each year. they misrepresent the dangers to doctors. hospitals say it is costing them billions. $35 billion since 2010. this is the first class-action lawsuit filed by hospitals. they are asking for ricoh damages as well. that is the same law used to prosecute the mafia. >> it is outrageous what they have been allowed to get away with. >> reporter: we contacted all the defendants. johnson & johnson, indo, and purdue all denied the claims. they look forward to presenting the defense. they are actively recruiting more hospitals in gearing up for a long legal battle. >> they are struggling because of this huge burden that has been dumped on them, unfairly and illegally. we are going to get their money back for them.>> reporter: as for wells, she is off opioids and helping others battle addiction. >> none of us woke up one day and wanted to be a drug addict. i was sick and did not know what to do.
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Jan 13, 2018 | KHBBLP (ABC)
By Helena, MT
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062163?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1
Rough Transcript: the first trial date has been set for a lawsuit by a state against pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic. oklahoma is one of at least 13 states who have filed lawsuits against drugmakers... alleging fraudulent marketing of drugs that fueled the opioidepidemic. oklahoma state attorney general mike hunter says a judge has granted his request for a may 28-th 20-19 trial date... the lawsuit is against purdue pharma, allergan, janssenpharmaceuticals, teva pharmaceuticals and several of their subsidiaries. the companies deny any wrongdoi..mont
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| SPNWSAU (Spectrum News)
By Austin, TX
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062165?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1
Rough Transcript: a federal court panel decided that the cases should be consolidated before federal judge dan polster. the judge is now overseing more than 20 lawsuits against drug companies steming from the opioid epidemic. each lawsuit accuses drug makers and distributors of not helping contain the spread of adictive painkillers.
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Jan 14, 2018 | WBAL (NBC)
By Baltimore, MD
Video Link: http://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/32062168?token=51e963de-f805-4674-932d-984d119690f1
Rough Transcript: in this morning's state addiction report, the list of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors and overprescribing local doctors are expected to grow. anne arundel county was the first it file a lawsuit. other jurisdictions plan to file similar lawsuits, including baltimore city, howard, harford and baltire counties. that lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages in relation 5:47 AMto the opioid epidemic, but they estimate it will be in the tens of millions of dollars. ? the long term goal isn't just dollars and cents. the long-term goal is to change the way these drugs are prescribed, to change the way they're marketed, and to change the way there given to our citizens. jennifer: anne arundel had more than 1,000 oveoses last year. theo: cracking down also means taking solutions to the streets. 11 news got a look at a mobil outreach van parked outside the detention center doing just that. troy gladden has been coming to p care for three weeksor his help with his 20-year addiction to heroi and out heroin. in and out of jail, he's tired of killing himself. >> every day is a struggle, but i'm not going to give up. i love me. if don't nobody love me, i mean, who is? theo: p care, or project connections at community reentry, is a program funded through grants. it's a van parked outside the jail, just a small space, a staff of eight, but it has hopes of making a big difference in the community right. >> now, we're serving eight to ten clients who are actively on buprenorphine treatment. theo: dr. meganurish signed on beuse of her conviction for underserved populations. a swab of the mouth checks for drugs. some folks are referred to other facilities for counseling, but the primary purpose here is to get drug misusers off opioids with buprenorphine, a drug like methadone that curbs opioid cravings.
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