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Opioid Litigation Daily Media Report - 4/10/18
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5 Attys Tapped For Pharmacy Negotiating Team In Opioid MDL
Apr 9, 2018 | Law360
By Emily Field
The Ohio federal judge overseeing the massive multidistrict litigation over allegedly reckless opioid sales on Monday tapped five attorneys representing retail chain pharmacies to serve on a separate negotiating team to work on settlement talks. -
White House Asked To Produce Info On Opioid Crisis Work
Apr 9, 2018 | Law360
By Emily Field
Two Democratic senators called on President Donald Trump on Monday to detail what progress his administration has made to carry out proposals made by a special White House commission to fight the opioid crisis, citing concerns that the administration isn’t doing enough to counter the epidemic. -
Senate Dems press Trump admin on opioid response
Apr 9, 2018 | The Hill
By Nathaniel Weixel
Two top Senate Democrats are pressing the Trump administration on whether it has adequately responded to the opioid crisis. -
Our View: Lawsuits will not help much with opioid crisis (Opinion)
Apr 9, 2018 | Times Leader (PA)
By Editorial Board
You probably nodded your head in agreement when you heard the news about Wilkes-Barre deciding to sue some of the country’s major opioid manufacturers and distributors. -
Sherrod Brown calls for TV campaign to prevent opioid addiction
Apr 9, 2018 | The Columbus Dispatch (OH)
By Jack Torry
Calling opioid addiction a “public health emergency,” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown urged a “comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained public health campaign″ to reduce the scourge of the pain-killing drugs which have led to the death of thousands. -
U.S. surgeon general in Northern Kentucky: Yes, naloxone is enabling – enabling recovery
Apr 9, 2018 | Cincinnatti.com (OH)
By Terry DeMio
His own brother is imprisoned for crimes he committed to pay for his addiction, says U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams. -
Florida to Sue Drug Manufacturers Over Drug Abuse Crisis
Apr 9, 2018 | Legal Scoops
By Jacob Maslow
The state of Florida plans to join other states in suing drug companies that allegedly contributed to the opioid crisis. -
Palm Beach County Sues Drugmakers Over Opioid Crisis
Apr 9, 2018 | Law.com
By Katheryn Tucker
Palm Beach County has file an opioid crisis lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry with help from outside lawyers in Miami and New York. -
Montgomery sues opioid manufacturerser
Apr 9, 2018 | The Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
By Melissa Brown
The city of Montgomery on Monday filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of OxyContin and other opioids. -
County weighs opioid lawsuit
Apr 9, 2018 | Valdosta Daily Times (GA)
By Thomas Lynn
Lowndes County may join nine other cities and counties suing opioid manufacturers. -
Pueblo County joins national lawsuit against opioid makers
Apr 9, 2018 | The Pueblo Chieftain / The Pueblo West View (CO)
By Anthony A. Mestas
Pueblo County has been one of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic in Colorado and because of that, the county commissioners have entered a national lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. -
Pueblo County joins national lawsuit against opioid makers
Apr 9, 2018 | KKTV 11 (CO)
By Staff
In response to an opioid epidemic gripping Pueblo County, commissioners have decided to join a national lawsuit against manufacturers of the drug. -
Pueblo County is suing national drug companies over opioid crisis
Apr 9, 2018 | KOAA News 5 (CO)
By Lena Howland
Pueblo County is the latest community to join a national lawsuit against opioid pharmaceutical companies. -
More Wisconsin Counties To Sue Drug Makers
Apr 9, 2018 | Wisconsin Public Radio (WI)
By Shamane Mills
County officials across Wisconsin are continuing to push forward with efforts to hold prescription drug manufacturers responsible for the ongoing opioid epidemic gripping both the state and nation. -
Joining other Wisconsin counties, Dane County to file lawsuit to take on opioid epidemic
Apr 9, 2018 | The Daily Cardinal (WI)
By J. Adam Wigger
Joining Milwaukee County and other municipalities, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced today that Dane County has hired law firms to assist the county in filing a federal lawsuit against drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic. -
Dane County hires attorneys to sue drug makers over opioids
Apr 9, 2018 | Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
By Ed Treleven
Dane County has hired the legal team that it will represent the county when it files a federal lawsuit against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors that the county believes have cost taxpayers millions in its fight against opioid drug addiction, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said Monday. -
Portland faces uphill battle in lawsuit against opioid makers
Apr 9, 2018 | The Forecaster (ME)
By David Harry
City Manager Jon Jennings admitted it won’t be easy to gather evidence to support the city’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. -
More data needed before county decides on opioid lawsuit
Apr 6, 2018 | Temple Daily Telegraph (TX)
By Jacob Sanchez
As counties, cities and states jump to sue the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers, Bell County is taking a more measured approach to deciding whether to join that growing list. -
Multnomah County's $250M opioid lawsuit transferred to Ohio, after all
Apr 9, 2018 | Portland Business Journal (OR)
By Elizabeth Hayes
The $250 million lawsuit Multnomah County filed against opioid manufacturers and distributors is now heading from U.S. District Court in Oregon to the Northern District of Ohio, where more than 400 similar cases are pending before one judge. -
CBS 8 News This Morning
Apr 10, 2018 | Montgomery, AL
By WAKA (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132870?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
WSFA 12 News at 6
Apr 9, 2018 | Montgomery, AL
By WSFA (NBC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132977?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
WBRC FOX6 News at 9pm
Apr 9, 2018 | Birmingham, AL
By WBRC (Fox)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132996?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
15 News at 11am
Apr 9, 2018 | Madison, WI
By WMTV (NBC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132966?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
27 News at 6PM
Apr 9, 2018 | Madison, WI
By WKOW (ABC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132983?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
11 News at 5:30PM
Apr 9, 2018 | Colorado Springs, CO
By KKTV (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132991?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
FOX21 News at 10pm
Apr 10, 2018 | Colorado Springs, CO
By KXRM (Fox)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133086?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
KIRO 7 News at 5AM
Apr 10, 2018 | Seattle, WA
By KIRO (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133069?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
News4Utah at 10pm
Apr 10, 2018 | Salt Lake City, (UT)
By KTVX (ABC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133032?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57 -
2 News at 4:30am
Apr 10, 2018 | Salt Lake City, UT
By KUTV (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133095?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
MDL
Commentary & FYIs
Southeast (FL, AL, GA)
West (CO)
Midwest (WI)
Northeast (ME)
Southwest (TX)
Northwest (OR)
Broadcast Media Coverage
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5 Attys Tapped For Pharmacy Negotiating Team In Opioid MDL
Apr 9, 2018 | Law360
By Emily Field
The Ohio federal judge overseeing the massive multidistrict litigation over allegedly reckless opioid sales on Monday tapped five attorneys representing retail chain pharmacies to serve on a separate negotiating team to work on settlement talks.
U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster set a negotiating team of attorneys from five firms and appointed Kaspar Stoffelmayr of Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP, who represents Walgreens in the MDL, to serve as liaison counsel for the chain pharmacies. Judge Polster said in a one-page order that the special masters had recommended that the retail chain pharmacies get their own separate negotiating team.
“Like the other negotiating teams, this team will work with the special masters and the court to identify possible resolutions of economic and non-economic issues in this litigation,” Judge Polster said. “The court reserves the right to modify the composition of this team as discussions go forward, and this team may appoint 'support committees' to assist with negotiations as it sees fit."The other members of the team include Eric Delinsky of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, Ronda Harvey of Bowles Rice LLP, Kelly Moore of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and Tina Tabacchi of Jones Day.
“We look forward to working with this new committee,” Joe Rice of Motley Rice LLC, who represents local governments in the MDL, told Law360 on Monday.
The growing MDL encompasses roughly 300 lawsuits and could result in billions of dollars in financial damages. The suits target various drugmakers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, as well as major distributors and pharmacy chains including Rite-Aid and CVS.
In 2016, more than 50,000 drug overdose deaths were attributed to opioids, including prescription painkillers and illicit narcotics, a figure more than 10 times the American death toll for the entire Iraq War.
Other companies targeted in the case include Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., as well as distributors Cardinal Health Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corp. and McKesson Corp.
The pharmacy negotiating team joins the negotiating teams of attorneys representing the plaintiffs, drugmakers and drug distributors that Judge Polster established in February.
Judge Polster set a goal of sharply reducing the number of opioid prescriptions in circulation in the U.S. remarkably early in the litigation, saying in January — one month after the MDL was formed — that his objective was to do something “meaningful” about the crisis.
The U.S. Department of Justice also wants to get involved in the litigation. Last week it asked to participate as a friend of the court so it could provide the federal government's knowledge and perspective on the crisis.
While it said it would not be a direct party to the case, the DOJ is looking to help craft nonmonetary settlements to aid the public and reimburse the government for the treatment of users.
The department also wants to be involved in settlement discussions to ensure any resolution will serve the public interest.
In March, Judge Polster set a litigation track in the MDL, entering it into an active stage of discovery, motions and bellwether trials to boost the prospects of ongoing settlement talks.
The attorneys on the pharmacy negotiating team didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
The case is In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, case number 1:17-md-02804, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. -
White House Asked To Produce Info On Opioid Crisis Work
Apr 9, 2018 | Law360
By Emily Field
Two Democratic senators called on President Donald Trump on Monday to detail what progress his administration has made to carry out proposals made by a special White House commission to fight the opioid crisis, citing concerns that the administration isn’t doing enough to counter the epidemic.
U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., want to know what’s been done with each of the 56 recommendations for tackling the opioid crisis made last November by a bipartisan commission. The report’s broad recommendations include new payment policies for health care providers, changes to criminal sentences, stepped-up screening of imports and closer scrutiny of employer health insurance.
The report also states that the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy must set up a system for tracking all federally funded initiatives on the epidemic and work with federal agencies and stakeholders to develop policies that make sure patients are fully aware of the risks and benefits of opioids before they’re prescribed painkillers, according to the senators’ letter.
“We are concerned, however, by reports that in spite of the opioid epidemic's devastating impact on American communities, your administration has failed to act aggressively to combat it,” the senators wrote. “You declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency on Oct. 26, 2017, but there has been little evidence that your administration has taken advantage of the supplemental executive branch authorities and resources provided by this designation.”
The rampant opioid epidemic claimed more than 50,000 lives in 2016. And while an estimated 2.1 million Americans suffer from opioid use disorder, only one in 10 Americans have access to specialty treatment, the senators wrote.
But in recent months, Trump has proposed slashing the ONDCP’s budget by $340 million and nominated a director for the office that had no experience in public health or addiction policy, the senators wrote. And, according to reports, he leans on aides with limited health policy experience to organize the White House’s response to the crisis, the senators wrote.
“Meanwhile, the position of [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration] Administrator remains empty, a critical role in monitoring the distribution and supply of harmful prescription medications that have fueled the opioid crisis,” the senators wrote.
The senators want detailed information by April 23 on whether the administration has taken action on the report’s recommendations and, if it has, what stage it’s in.
If the administration hasn’t started work on a recommendation, the senators want to know why, as well as its plans and timeline for completing a recommendation.
“If the administration never plans to take action on the recommendation, please provide a detailed explanation of why not,” the senators requested.
The senators also want to know which recommendations need congressional action and who in the executive branch is overseeing the federal government’s response to the raging opioid epidemic and is in charge of monitoring the work on the report’s recommendations.
Representatives for the White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. -
Senate Dems press Trump admin on opioid response
Apr 9, 2018 | The Hill
By Nathaniel Weixel
Two top Senate Democrats are pressing the Trump administration on whether it has adequately responded to the opioid crisis.
In a letter sent Monday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Patty Murray(D-Wash.) said they are concerned the administration has not implemented recommendations from an official White House advisory commission.
The administration in late October declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency. Then, in November, the White House commission gave specific recommendations to the administration so it could address the opioid epidemic.
Murray and Warren said there’s little evidence the White House has listened.
"Over five months have passed since the Commission issued its final recommendations," the senators wrote. "We are concerned … that in spite of the opioid epidemic's devastating impact on American communities, your administration has failed to act aggressively to combat it."
The letter noted that in recent months the administration has proposed slashing the budget of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy by $340 million; has nominated a director for that office with no experience in public health or addiction policy; and has reportedly relied on aides with limited public health expertise to coordinate the White House's opioid response.
Warren and Murray have previously expressed concern over an apparent lack of significant administration action regarding the opioid crisis.
In February, they asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate all the actions the administration has taken to combat the epidemic since declaring it a public health emergency.
For years, the federal government has grappled with how to combat the skyrocketing rates of overdose deaths from prescription painkillers and heroin — rates that increased 28 percent from 2015 to 2016.
“You declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency on October 26, 2017, but there has been little evidence that your Administration has taken advantage of the supplemental executive branch authorities and resources provided by this designation,” Murray and Warren wrote.
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Our View: Lawsuits will not help much with opioid crisis (Opinion)
Apr 9, 2018 | Times Leader (PA)
By Editorial Board
You probably nodded your head in agreement when you heard the news about Wilkes-Barre deciding to sue some of the country’s major opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Like Luzerne County and many other towns and states, the city is seeking financial retribution for the opioid crisis deemed “the No. 1 public safety threat” by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro in an interview with the Times Leader editorial board last summer.
The county’s 155 overdose deaths in 2017 make Shapiro’s point even more obvious.
It’s easy to blame the big, bad pharma giants who make OxyContin and Percocet and the companies who help bring these painkillers to market.
Why shouldn’t some of these billion-dollar outfits pay to clean up the mess they helped make?
But there are two sides to every story.
And the other side has an argument worth listening to, even if it doesn’t completely wipe away any culpability.
The Healthcare Distribution Alliance is a trade group representing wholesale drug distributors, including those Wilkes-Barre is suing: Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., and the McKesson Corp.
The city and other plaintiffs allege drugmakers denied the addictive nature of opioids while the distributors failed to properly monitor and report skyrocketing orders.
But the distributors point out they were reporting “every single order to the DEA.” And as the trade association notes, the DEA has long been in charge of “setting the annual production of controlled substances in the market.”
Bottom line: The government had the power to step in years ago but failed.
Now, folks are just trying to cash in.
Remember when the tobacco companies were the bad guys? It led to 1998’s massive tobacco settlement — $206 billion over the first 25 years of the agreement.
But predictably, a lot of the money states received has not been directed to reduce tobacco usage. It’s been used to plug budget holes or — most egregiously — funneled back into the tobacco industry in some cases to help producers, according to the American Lung Association.
If cities and states get major bucks from opioid industry players, do you really trust them to spend it wisely?
Lawsuits aren’t the answer unless you enjoy seeing lawyers get rich.
What will help in both the short and long term is opioid-abuse education and prevention coupled with a push to expand the use of medical marijuana so a new generation of patients suffering with pain don’t run the risk of getting hooked on pills.
In the meantime, municipalities large and small should arm their police forces and other public employees with Narcan, the antidote that reverses opioid ODs. It should be readily available in public spaces as well. Let’s make it as common as those heart defibrillators you see in office hallways and provide training so people know how to administer a life-saving injection.
This is a complex issue. Let’s stop our leaders from taking the easy way out through litigation that will take years to settle and help very little with the root problem.
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Sherrod Brown calls for TV campaign to prevent opioid addiction
Apr 9, 2018 | The Columbus Dispatch (OH)
By Jack Torry
Calling opioid addiction a “public health emergency,” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown urged a “comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained public health campaign″ to reduce the scourge of the pain-killing drugs which have led to the death of thousands.
In a speech Monday before the Cleveland City Club, Brown, D-Ohio, did not outline any major new steps to combat opioid addiction, but rather called for a broad-based campaign that would boost efforts to prevent addiction and treat those who are addicted.
In particular, he called for a TV campaign similar to the anti-smoking commercials produced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014. Known as “The Real Cost,” those commercials were designed to discourage millions of Americans between ages 12 and 17 from smoking.
In remarks prepared for delivery, Brown said teenagers targeted by the FDA “campaign were 30 percent less likely to start smoking. Why? Because it was designed by experts, it was targeted, and it was tested.”
“We know what works,” Brown said. “And we should use that experience to develop a targeted and effective education campaign against opioids.”
In addition, Brown said, “We need to have real conversations about pain and the risks associated with drugs to treat it. Nobody is saying we should go back to the days when we ignored pain, but we need to have strategies to manage pain that take addiction into account,” Brown said.
Brown is seeking re-election to his third term at a time when opioid addiction in Ohio is a major political issue, particularly in Ohio. Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, and Mike Gibbons, a Cleveland business man, are competing for the GOP nomination to face Brown.
Brittany Martinez, a Renacci spokeswoman, assailed the speech, saying “Brown has been ineffective in trying to find a solution to combat our nation’s devastating opioid crisis since he was sworn into Congress in the 1990s. On the contrary, Jim Renacci has made tackling this epidemic a priority during his short time in Congress.”
Chris Schrimpf, a Gibbons spokesman, charged that Brown “has been in office for 40 years, including many years as this crisis worsened. It’s telling that he only developed this plan when it is time to face the voters again.”
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U.S. surgeon general in Northern Kentucky: Yes, naloxone is enabling – enabling recovery
Apr 9, 2018 | Cincinnatti.com (OH)
By Terry DeMio
His own brother is imprisoned for crimes he committed to pay for his addiction, says U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.
That didn't make Melissa Beckett any less stunned by what happened when she met the nation's top doctor.
"I reached out my hand," she said. "He hugged me."
Beckett was among a half-dozen residents Adams met Monday when he swung by the Northern Kentucky Health Department in Florence. She told of finding her son, blue, in her Fort Thomas home three years ago, and how she used naloxone to pull him out of a heroin overdose.
It was one out of six times that Ian had overdosed, Beckett said.
Adams' warm reaction to her touched Beckett. "I think it's awesome that he's here and so involved," she said.
Adams, who is part of the Trump administration, said he hears people say that reviving the overdosed with naloxone is enabling.
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones, a supporter of President Donald Trump, is one of those who have opposed the use of naloxone to revive overdose victims.
"I say it's enabling recovery," Adams said.
Adams made a trip through the health department to reinforce his advisory from last week that everyone whose family or friends have any risk of opioid overdose get naloxone.
"Anyone can be a hero and save a life," Adams said.
He said that in Kentucky, nearly everyone knows someone who's afflicted with addiction. More than 1,400 people died from an overdose in 2016, and while 2017's toll isn't yet tallied, Northern Kentucky's St. Elizabeth Hospitals reported a 30 percent rise in overdose cases last year.
Adams briefly referenced his younger brother, Phillip, who has struggled with substance use disorders for years. The surgeon general said that "stigma" continues to be a problem in the United States. "We need to see addiction as a chronic disease, not a moral failing."
But he reminded that naloxone isn't just for injection opioid users or people with addiction. Teenagers might take a pill for fun – and end up swallowing one that's tainted with illicit fentanyl, the hugely potent opioid that's been blamed for the upswing in overdose deaths, Adams said.
"We want every community member who's at risk from overdose – if someone in your orbit is at risk, we want you to carry naloxone," he said.
The next step, Adams said, is getting people who've overdosed into addiction treatment.
He recognized shortcomings in the medical system.
"We will never have enough inpatient recovery centers," Adams said. But he said that every doctor, nurse and pharmacist should be given the tools to fight addiction.
Adams said while "everyone's recovery pathway is different," it's important to share that evidence-based treatment significantly increases the chances of recovery for those with opioid addiction. He supports the use of FDA-approved medications naltrexone, methadone and buprenorphine for the addiction.
Beckett liked that message, too, because medication-assisted treatment helped her son, now 26, recover from heroin addiction. He was prescribed the non-narcotic Vivitrol for a year.
Adams swung through the health department before speaking at a Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber forum in Erlanger.
There, he talked about his ties to the region and to the opioid epidemic. Adams was the health commissioner in Indiana during the Scott County HIV outbreak in 2015 that was tied to addicted residents who were injecting the opioid Opana. He pushed then for needle exchange, and on Monday, he commended Kentucky for its needle exchange programs.
He has a few local connections, including his aunt, Kelly Everett, director of business development for American Structure of Cincinnati, who introduced him at the chamber luncheon.
"It's critically important to me that we're taking the right steps," Adams said, "in my back yard, Kentucky."
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Florida to Sue Drug Manufacturers Over Drug Abuse Crisis
Apr 9, 2018 | Legal Scoops
By Jacob Maslow
The state of Florida plans to join other states in suing drug companies that allegedly contributed to the opioid crisis.
“Florida deserves the maximum compensation for all of the deaths that have happened in our state,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The annual drug report from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, released in November 2017, revealed that 5,725 Floridians died of opioid-related complications in 2016, up 35% from 2015.
Bondi says pharmaceutical companies are partly to blame for the opioid problem in the state. The goal, she says, is to “stop this bad behavior.”
Sarasota joined Manatee County and other municipalities across the country in filing a lawsuit against drug manufacturers.
In 2017, Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency due to the increasing number of opioid-related deaths in Florida. He signed a bill in March that directed $53.3 million in grants towards drug treatment programs.
While Bondi wants to sue drug manufacturers, she has yet to find lawyers who will take on the case. Her office has reportedly been looking for lawyers for at least two months, but they have yet to decide on anyone.
Last week, Bondi said she will not join the multi-state lawsuit coordinated by a federal judge in Ohio.
“Florida, as the third-largest state in the country, we will be filing our own lawsuit just as we did in the BP oil spill,” she said. No timetable has been given for the lawsuit.
Palm Beach County has obtained outside counsel and already filed a lawsuit against over two dozen people and companies, including Walmart, CVS and Johnson and Johnson.
Several cities have either sued the drug companies or have voted to hire lawyers to file a suit, including Miami-Dad County, Pinellas County, the city of Delray Beach, Osceola County, Alachua County, the city of Tifton and Pasco County.
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Palm Beach County Sues Drugmakers Over Opioid Crisis
Apr 9, 2018 | Law.com
By Katheryn Tucker
Palm Beach County has file an opioid crisis lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry with help from outside lawyers in Miami and New York.
The 266-page complaint filed Thursday in Palm Beach Circuit Court named 29 defendants and alleges they downplayed the risks associated with their drugs in marketing them.
The Ferraro Law Firm in Miami and New York’s Napoli Shkolnik and Stull, Stull & Brody filed suit along with the county attorney’s office.
“This case is about one thing: corporate greed,” the complaint said. “Defendants put their desire for profits above the health and well-being of Palm Beach County consumers.”
The county is seeking to recover damages for use of public resources to fight the opioid crisis.
The lawsuit focuses on the growing problem of people becoming addicted to prescription painkillers, which often escalates to abuse of street drugs such as heroin. Palm Beach County has been recognized as a center of the opioid crisis, in part because of the growth of the drug rehabilitation industry in the region.
With varying degrees of treatment success, the county is ranked fourth in the nation for the number of overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, driving up costs for first responders and the medical examiner’s office. Addiction also has driven up the homeless population and overwhelmed the state foster care system with 45 percent of county admissions attributed to parental drug abuse is the first eight months of 2017.
“Palm Beach County spends millions of dollars each year to provide and pay for health care, services, pharmaceutical care and other necessary services and programs on behalf of residents,” the lawsuit said.
“It is about time that these defendants answer for the huge adverse economic impact that they have caused and for which they are responsible to the people of Palm Beach County,” Jim Ferraro of The Ferraro Law Firm, said in the news release.
“We are moving fast to bring justice to the people of the county who have had to carry this burden for too many years,” Hunter J. Shkolnik of Napoli Shkolnik said in the release.
Opioid-related deaths in Palm Beach County have skyrocketed in recent years, the lawyers said. Palm Beach County reported the largest number of heroin overdose deaths in Florida with 268 in 2015 and 552 in 2016. In 2017, the death toll climbed to nearly 600.
The lawsuit resembles others filed in other jurisdictions, many of which have been moved to multidistrict litigation in Ohio federal court. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said after filing a similar complaint that he expects it to be moved to Cleveland to become part of the MDL.
Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, is named as a defendant in the lawsuits. In an emailed response, the company said it was “deeply troubled by the opioid crisis, and we are dedicated to being part of the solution.” Addressing the lawsuit, the statement said, “We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense.”
Palm Beach County Mayor Melissa McKinlay issued a statement saying the lawsuit was an opportunity to say “enough is enough.”
“The thousands of Palm Beach County families struck by this epidemic deserve to hold someone accountable for deceptive, unscrupulous practices involving opioid dispensing, advertising and prescribing,” McKinlay said.
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Montgomery sues opioid manufacturerser
Apr 9, 2018 | The Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
By Melissa Brown
The city of Montgomery on Monday filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of OxyContin and other opioids.
The lawsuit alleges Montgomery sustained economic damages in terms of medical care costs, including overdoses and deaths, for "patients suffering from opioid-related addiction or disease." The lawsuit also claims the city has incurred "costs associated with providing care for children whose parents suffer from opioid-related disability or incapacitation."
Montgomery law firm Beasley Allen filed the suit on behalf of Montgomery. The firm has previously filed similar lawsuits for other Alabama cities and government entities.
“The problem of opioid addiction has become a national crisis and Alabama is one of the states that has been heading in the wrong direction,” attorney Jere Beasley said in a news release. “Alabama has four cities in the top 15 in the nation with the highest rates of opioid abuse, including our capital city. It is hard to fathom the number of people who are affected by this disaster that started because people were greedy. Opioid manufacturers and distributors were well aware of how addictive these drugs are, still they flooded the market and lied to the people of Alabama and across the country.”
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Alabama maintained a prescribing rate of 121 per 100 persons in 2016, the highest prescribing rate in the country.
Montgomery County had a 2016 opioid prescribing rate of 88 per 100 persons.
In February, Alabama became the latest state in the country to file a lawsuit against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma and others.
The lawsuit alleges Purdue's marketing strategy was deceptive and led to prescriptions for low-grade, long-term pain instead of for severe issues.
John Puskar, director of public affairs for Purdue Pharma L.P., said the company vigorously denies the allegations in the state’s lawsuit, according to an Associated Press report.
In a statement, Puskar said Purdue is "deeply troubled" by the opioid abuse crisis.
He also said the company developed three of the first four FDA-approved opioid medications with abuse-deterrent properties and has partnered with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses.
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Apr 9, 2018 | Valdosta Daily Times (GA)
By Thomas Lynn
Lowndes County may join nine other cities and counties suing opioid manufacturers.
During the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners work session Monday morning, the board heard from Haynes Studstill, an attorney with the Studtill Firm. Her firm — along with Conley, Griggs and Partin — is interested in representing the county in a class action lawsuit to recoup funds from opioid manufactures.
Studstill said joining the suit would be at no cost to the county. If the class action is successful, the law firm would be paid from the settlement, but if they lose, there would be no charge, she said.
She said she is confident the case will not make it to court and that the county would receive settlement money for damages caused by harmful advertising to doctors from opioid manufactures.
After Studstill's presentation, the board adjourned into executive session and will further consider the matter at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the administrative building on North Ashley Street.
The Georgia Open Meetings Act allows, but does not require, executive sessions to consider actual or pending litigation.
The county will also hold three public hearings to consider rezonings.
The first case involves a change in zoning on two properties totaling 2.8 acres from estate agriculture to low density residential. The motivation for this case, according to county documents, is to allow for future residential improvements.
Camp Rock has requested an amendment to a previous zoning change. This would allow the owners to operate a mobile food truck on the property while the business builds revenue for a full-scale kitchen.
The county will also consider rezoning a 20-acre property on Grace Lake to allow for a single-family home.
At the Tuesday meeting, the board will consider a memorandum of agreement with Georgia Department of Transportation for the right-of-way phase of Old Quitman Road bridge replacement project. The county would pay 50 percent, or $70,000, on the project, if approved.
The county will consider accepting the Violence Against Women's Act Grant Award for the solicitor general's office. The grant was approved and is worth $50,000. It will pay for an assistant solicitor general to specialize in family violence and violence against women crimes, according to county leaders.
A proposal for a Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program request will be considered by the board. If approved, the county will be completely covered by the grant for $450,000. The funding is designed to develop programs that address the needs of youth who are typically committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice, county leaders said.
The board will consider bids to resurface four county roads. The county will pay around $450,000 to pave Howell Road, Knights Academy Road, Rocky Ford Road and Shiloh Road.
Around $1.2 million for the project will be paid from GDOT. The lowest bid came from the Scruggs Company for $1.6 million. This represents both state department of transportation and county funds.
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Pueblo County joins national lawsuit against opioid makers
Apr 9, 2018 | The Pueblo Chieftain / The Pueblo West View (CO)
By Anthony A. Mestas
Pueblo County has been one of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic in Colorado and because of that, the county commissioners have entered a national lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.
The county joins local governments from across the state and country in the lawsuit against major pharmaceutical companies for damages, arguing the overprescribing of opioid prescription drugs contributed to thousands of heroin overdose deaths and other damages from those prescribed drug.
The county has been exploring the idea of entering the suit since January.
On Monday, the county commissioners voted to hire the law firms for collective counsel, including Crueger Dickinson, LLC; Simmons Hanly Conroy, LLC; and von Briesen & Roper, s.c.
The firms are representing several counties in the lawsuit across the country, including New York City.
The major federal “multi-district” suit is being heard in a federal court in Ohio.
“I don’t think as a board we ever questioned whether or not to jump into this,” said County Commissioner Garrison Ortiz.
“We did really well on taking some time going through a pretty lengthy work session to really evaluate these firms and see who ultimately will provide, hopefully, the best return to our county.”
Erin Dickinson, founder of Crueger Dickinson, attended the commissioners’ meeting Monday.
“My partner in all of these cases, Paul Hanly of Simmons Hanly Conroy, and I sit on the committee leading the nationwide litigation,” Dickinson said.
“You will be in great hands in terms of having both of us. Paul is sitting in one of the three co-lead spots and I am sitting on the 20-person committee. So we are ecstatic to represent you.
“We are off to the races. The fight is underway. And it couldn’t be a more important fight.”
Dickinson said the first cases in the lawsuit should go to trial next year.
Huerfano County announced its decision to sue in January and filed a lawsuit in Denver District Dourt that is part of a larger “multi-district” action being handled by Stephen Ochs of Stephen Ochs, LLC of Colorado Springs. Ochs’ firm also presented a proposal to Pueblo County.
“We have a lot of very good firms that gave proposals to us, but I think we felt that your firm was head and shoulders above the rest for several reason not the least of which is your experience, your cliental and your connection into the management of the case,” Commissioner Chairman Terry Hart said to Dickinson.
Dickinson said she anticipates that it will take about two weeks to draft Pueblo County’s complaint and her team will interact with county officials throughout the process.
“We want to get everyone involved that wants to be involved as quick as possible,” Dickinson said.
Reports indicate that Pueblo County has the second highest death rate from fatal drug overdoses per 100,000 people in the state, and county officials say joining the lawsuit is just one step to stop the epidemic.
“It’s an important step for Pueblo County,” Commissioner Sal Pace said. “Standing up for our constituents, but also citizens across the country.
“I am glad we are taking a stand.”
Brian Cotter, the county coroner, has reported there were 12 heroin overdose deaths in 2016, plus another 15 overdoses from multiple drugs. There were another dozen heroin overdose fatalities in 2015.
Cotter and District Attorney Jeff Chostner showed their support for the county’s decision during the meeting Monday.
“Between 85 and 90 percent of our total population in our jail are associated in some fashion with drug abuse, alcohol abuse or mental illness issues,” Hart said.
“This opioid litigation is one of the things that can help us start to strike back. Our citizens have had to pay out a significant amount of money and continue to pay a significant amount of money and we as a community are pretty angry about that.”
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Pueblo County joins national lawsuit against opioid makers
Apr 9, 2018 | KKTV 11 (CO)
By Staff
In response to an opioid epidemic gripping Pueblo County, commissioners have decided to join a national lawsuit against manufacturers of the drug.
The county joins neighboring Huerfano County and a number of counties nationwide. El Paso County has been in talks about whether to join the lawsuit.
Southern Colorado is one of the regions hardest hit by the opioid crisis.
The attorneys behind the lawsuit allege pharmaceutical companies have been overprescribing prescription drugs containing opioids and creating a vicious cycle where the user begins to crave the drug and needs more and more to satisfy the craving.
"They were never to be prescribed for the routine sprained ankle, or the chronic backache, or even in the case of surgery, more than five to seven days," one of the attorneys told 11 News in February.
According to a report by the Pueblo Chieftain, a staggering 85-90 percent of those incarcerated in the county jail have issues with substance abuse or mental illness.
The paper also reports that the county has the second-highest death rate from drug overdoes per 100,000 people in the state.
The suit will be heard in federal court in Ohio.
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Pueblo County is suing national drug companies over opioid crisis
Apr 9, 2018 | KOAA News 5 (CO)
By Lena Howland
Pueblo County is the latest community to join a national lawsuit against opioid pharmaceutical companies.
As News 5 has reported, those drug makers are being blamed for the opioid crisis sweeping the nation.
Pueblo County Commissioners moved forward with this on Monday by officially hiring legal counsel to take their case up to the federal level.
They say, not only is this appropriate but this is a necessity for the well being of Pueblo County.
"Because they harmed our community so bad, we're incurring expenses in our jail, we're incurring expenses in our emergency rooms, frankly, we had the coroner in earlier today and we're experiencing a growth in the number of people being killed by this," Pueblo County Commissioner Terry Hart said.
They are joining dozens of other communities across the nation, filing claims against the pharmaceutical industry and the medical doctors that were driving the decisions to put highly addictive opioid-based products into patients' hands back in the 1990's and early 2000's for pain management.
"What did these folks know? And did they have predatory type of sales practices that basically hooked innocent individuals into this horrible, horrible opioid crisis? And we believe yes, that's exactly what they did," Hart said.
The law firm they hired, based out of Wisconsin, has already been working with other communities on this litigation. They say, Pueblo will be one of the leading communities in the lawsuit.
"They indicated that Pueblo will be one of the lead communities, they've got a number of clients already, but we'll be one of the lead communities in making sure that all of our facts are in front of the federal judge and if we can get an order out of this case, putting money back into the community that Pueblo citizens will benefit from that," Hart said.
Pueblo County is following suit right behind Huerfano County, they joined in the national lawsuit at the end of January.
Commissioner Hart says he expects this to go to trial by sometime next year and he believes Pueblo County will not be the last community in Colorado to help hold these pharmaceutical companies accountable.
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More Wisconsin Counties To Sue Drug Makers
Apr 9, 2018 | Wisconsin Public Radio (WI)
By Shamane Mills
County officials across Wisconsin are continuing to push forward with efforts to hold prescription drug manufacturers responsible for the ongoing opioid epidemic gripping both the state and nation.
As of April 3, the Wisconsin Counties Association offered updated figures saying seven more counties have joined a federal lawsuit against opioid drug manufacturers, bringing the total number to 66 of the state’s 72 counties. The association claims drugmakers engaged in fraud, misrepresentation and false advertising while pushing their products.
Meanwhile Dane and Milwaukee counties are also pursuing separate civil action against manufacturers.
On Monday, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi held a press conference announcing the county would be hiring a national firm, Barron & Budd, to serve as lead counsel.
Counties are hoping to recover costs caused by abuse of prescription painkillers and other opioids like heroin and synthetic fentanyl being sold on the street.
"We have seen workload increases in our medical examiners office, sheriff’s department, child protective services, courts, emergency management and other county funded services," Parisi said.
Parisi told reporters that Barron & Budd is heading up civil lawsuits for 80 percent of the municipalities in the U.S. that are taking legal action against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors. The firm is the same one being used by Milwaukee County.
A number of states, including Wisconsin, have announced investigations of the opioid pharmaceutical industry and some have filed suits of their own.
But most of the costs are born by counties. Last year, Dane County had a $7.5 million budget for drug prevention and treatment. Parisi said 30 percent of that went for those addicted to opioids.
"It’s time that drug companies that are profiting from these (opioids) be held accountable for the damage they are causing to families across our county," Parisi said.
State health officials report that in 2016, 827 people died from opioid overdoses statewide. In Dane County, Parisi said there were 85 deaths that year, up from just 13 in 2000.
Also on Monday, Gov. Scott Walker signed a pair of opioid-related bills in Green Bay with the author, state Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette.
The measures include funding for law enforcement drug trafficking grants, more drug prosecutors, funding to create a medically assisted treatment pilot program and reductions in regulatory barriers facing substance abuse counselors.
Nygren, who has pushed an extensive agenda to fight opioid abuse in recent years said the new legislation strikes a balance between law enforcement and treatment.
During the signing event, Nygren focused on positive progress that has been made fighting the opioid epidemic so far.
"Between 2015 and 2017 the entry point for addiction — which is oftentimes prescription drugs — we saw a 20-percent reduction in (opioids being prescribed). We’ve also seen a 50-percent reduction in doctor shopping," Nygren said.
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Joining other Wisconsin counties, Dane County to file lawsuit to take on opioid epidemic
Apr 9, 2018 | The Daily Cardinal (WI)
By J. Adam Wigger
Joining Milwaukee County and other municipalities, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced today that Dane County has hired law firms to assist the county in filing a federal lawsuit against drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic.
The epidemic has hit Dane County families hard, according to Parisi, with opioid deaths skyrocketing from 13 in 2000 to 85 in 2016.
“Everyone has been affected by this crisis, and it’s only growing,” Parisi said.
Many Dane County offices and agencies have seen an increase in workload in order to help alleviate the epidemic, including local healthcare providers, the medical examiner’s office, sheriff’s department, child-protective services, foster care, Dane County Emergency Management and others.
On average, 21 million opioid pills are dispensed to Dane County residents per year through more than 300,000 prescriptions, according to a press release from the County Executive’s office.
Due to pharmaceutical companies’ actions, misuse of prescription drugs has risen, according to Mary Kolar, Dane County Board Supervisor. This prompted the county’s legal action against these companies
According to Kolar, “aggressive and inappropriate marketing by [these companies] has led to misuse of opioids.” Kolar stressed the point of the lawsuit by indicating that the corporations need to be held “accountable for the tragic results of addiction, including death, that they made billions of dollars from.”
Dane County Board Chair Sharon Corrigan spoke on the partnership with the law firm and the impact that this epidemic has had on the community.
“There’s not one of us that hasn’t known an individual or family in our area [...] that aren’t impacted by this,” she said.
Corrigan said she is excited for Dane County to join other local governments in the fight against large pharmaceutical companies.
Over the coming months, Baron and Budd, the law firm working with Dane and Milwaukee counties, will continue drafting legal arguments along with the county in order to file the federal suit. The law team has not yet identified specific companies to file against.
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Dane County hires attorneys to sue drug makers over opioids
Apr 9, 2018 | Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
By Ed Treleven
Dane County has hired the legal team that it will represent the county when it files a federal lawsuit against pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors that the county believes have cost taxpayers millions in its fight against opioid drug addiction, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said Monday.
Parisi said that Dane County is working with a team of expert law firms, with Dallas, Texas-based Baron & Budd serving as lead counsel, to help the county file a federal lawsuit against the pharmaceutical drug manufacturers and wholesale drug distributors "for their roles in causing and fueling the opioid epidemic in Dane County."
Baron & Budd's Baton Rouge, Louisiana, office is working with Dane County.
It could be months before any lawsuit is filed, Parisi said. Baron & Budd serves as lead counsel to about 80 percent of the municipalities that have filed lawsuits against pharmaceutical distributors in opioid-related cases, including Milwaukee County, Parisi said.
"The opioid epidemic has strained resources and cost communities millions of dollars as we try to get people the treatment and recovery they so desperately need," Parisi said at a news conference Monday. "Overall, Dane County has allocated a significant amount of resources to help those struggling with opioid addiction."
He said the county spent about $7.5 million in 2017 on drug treatment and prevention programs, and about 30 percent of that amount is devoted to addressing those addicted to opioid drugs. In addition, he said, many county departments have seen an increase in their workload due to opioid drug addiction.
"While today's announcement is about the legal remedy, let's not forget that at the core of the issue are real people whose lives and families have been torn apart by addiction," Parisi said. "It's time the drug companies that are profiting from these drugs be held accountable for the damage that they are causing to families across our county."
Yet to be decided is whether Dane County would go it alone or file its lawsuit with other counties, Parisi said.
Carlos Pabellon of the Dane County Corporation Counsel's Office said it hasn't been decided yet which specific companies would be targeted by the lawsuit.
Paballon also said that while it's possible that Dane County's lawsuit would proceed alone, any party in the lawsuit could ask that it be joined with other similar lawsuits. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation could join the case with others that are ongoing, Pabellon said, such as the massive number of opioid-related cases that have been assigned to U.S. District Court in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Portland faces uphill battle in lawsuit against opioid makers
Apr 9, 2018 | The Forecaster (ME)
By David Harry
City Manager Jon Jennings admitted it won’t be easy to gather evidence to support the city’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.
“It will be a lot of work for us to provide evidence and data, but it is well worth it,” Jennings said April 6, a day after the suit was filed in Cumberland County Superior Court.
Working with Auburn law firm Trafton, Matzen, Belleau and Frenette, and Napoli Shkolnick of New York, the complaint alleges pharmaceutical companies and physicians hired to work with them committed fraud, negligence, negligent marketing, received unjust enrichment and created a public nuisance.
The city also alleges the companies violated Maine’s Unfair Trade Practices Act while promoting the use of opioid medications that helped contribute to a record number of overdose deaths and increased costs for public health and safety.
“We are truly in a crisis in the nation as it relates to opiates, and you see it every day in Portland,” Jennings said. “It has only gotten staggeringly worse; I am proud the city has taken the step forward.”
Filed on a contingency basis – meaning the city’s legal costs will be a share of what it earns in a successful verdict – the suit names Purdue Pharma, Teva, Cephalon, Johnson & Johnson, Endo, Actavis, Insys, Mallinckrodt and Janssen and all associated company affiliates as manufacturers.
Distributors named in the suit are McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health 110, and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.
Also named are Drs. Douglas J. Jorgensen, Mark E. Cieniawski, Perry Fine, Scott Fishman, and Lynn Webster for their roles in allegedly over-prescribing or promoting overuse of opioid pain medications.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Portland is the third regional city to use Napoli Shkolnick to recover costs related to opioid addiction. Last year, lawsuits in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, were filed by the cities of Manchester and Nashua.
On April 5, Augusta city councilors also approved joining the litigation. Governments in Kennebec County and Waterville have also approved filing suit.
The 384-page complaint filed by the city is summarized succinctly as a fight against “corporate greed,” then details the methods by which defendants allegedly encouraged widespread use of opioids originally intended for use “for short-term post-surgical and trauma-related pain, and for palliative (end-of-life) care.”
The complaint alleges manufacturers, distributors and physicians paid by the manufacturers made drugs such as Oxycontin and Percocet staples of care for conditions “to treat more common aches and pains, like lower back pain, arthritis, and headaches.”
In doing so, the suit alleges the companies and physicians ignored or concealed evidence about the addictive qualities of the medications, as well as the fact long-term use of the medications could cause fatal overdoses.
“Together, opioids generated $8 billion in revenue for drug companies in 2012,” the complaint said.
Opioid addictions are increasingly costly to the city, according to a press release about the suit.
In 2017, the state attorney general’s office determined 57 of 418 overdoses in Maine occurred in Portland. Dr. Marcella Sorg said opioid use was linked to 51 of the fatal city overdoses. There were 42 fatal overdoses in Portland and 376 in Maine in 2016.
The costs are also measured in calls for service to police and emergency responders because of overdoses and for administering naxolone, known by its Narcan tradename.
City spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said police service calls went from 180 to 266 in 2016-2017, and police officers have used Narcan 103 times since they began carrying it in the fall of 2016. The Fire Department administered Narcan 204 times in 2017, up from 143 the year before.
City crews collected about 1,800 discarded needles last year, while the needle exchange at 103 India St. distributed 173,000 clean syringes and collected 186,000 used ones. The needle exchange does not receive city, state or federal funding.
“It is a very overwhelming set of propositions we deal with on a daily basis,” Jennings said of the impact of opioid addictions
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More data needed before county decides on opioid lawsuit
Apr 6, 2018 | Temple Daily Telegraph (TX)
By Jacob Sanchez
As counties, cities and states jump to sue the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers, Bell County is taking a more measured approach to deciding whether to join that growing list.
The Commissioners Court convened Monday afternoon in a workshop meeting to decide whether they should move forward with a lawsuit. Previously, three law firms made their cases for why the commissioners should tap them to represent Bell County in a potential lawsuit.
Bell County Judge Jon Burrows said the commissioners had a two-step decision before them. First, decide whether they want to proceed with a lawsuit. Second, decide who to represent the county.
“Is this an issue that we have now? Is this an issue we’ll have in the future? Is this an issue we have not yet recognized?” Burrows asked, adding that neighboring McLennan, Williamson, Coryell and larger Texas countries have sued.
The commissioners had several concerns regarding a lawsuit that had not yet been addressed by the three law firms seeking to represent Bell County.
“The issue that I have with it is that not one of them in the suit are going to do anything with the production … of the opioids. That’s still going to be out there,” Commissioner Russell Schneider said of the opioid lawsuits. “They’re not fixing the problem, in my opinion.”
Commissioner Bill Schumann echoed Burrows’s concerns on whether opioid use is as much of problem here as it is in other parts of the country.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Bell County is below the state and national averages for opioid prescriptions. For every 100 people in Bell County, 53.4 opioid prescriptions were dispensed 2016. The state average was 57.6 prescriptions per 100 people. The national average prescribing rate was 66.5 per 100 people.
Commissioner Tim Brown said he has three reasons for being reluctant to a lawsuit. The law firms that presented to the Commissioners Court did show that Bell County has a prevalent opioid problem, he said.
The second reason Brown listed was that the lawsuit is based upon recovering damages caused by opiods. The law firms told the commissioners the county could file the lawsuit for damages that happen in the future.
“We’re not suing on damages in the future. We’re suing for damages that have happened,” Brown said.
Brown’s final point was that he is concerned what happens when the lawsuits ultimately involve the medical community.
Commissioner John Fisher said they need more information before moving forward with a lawsuit. He said the Commissioners Court needs to ask the justices of the peace for toxicology report data that shows there have been opioid-related overdoses and get answers to other legal questions they have.
“I just don’t want us to be perceived as looking at chasing something that might not be affecting us specifically,” Fisher said. “But also, on the flip side, if we do nothing and there’s a settlement, we’re going to have people saying, ‘Why didn’t y’all pursue it?’ It’s a danged if you, danged if you don’t.”
The Commissioners Court will continue to weigh whether to file a lawsuit after getting the data and answers to their questions, Burrows said.
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Multnomah County's $250M opioid lawsuit transferred to Ohio, after all
Apr 9, 2018 | Portland Business Journal (OR)
By Elizabeth Hayes
The $250 million lawsuit Multnomah County filed against opioid manufacturers and distributors is now heading from U.S. District Court in Oregon to the Northern District of Ohio, where more than 400 similar cases are pending before one judge.
The county originally filed the lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court, but one of the drugmakers, Mallinckrodt LLC, had the case transferred to federal court. At a February hearing, a U.S. Magistrate judge in Portland recommended the lawsuit be transferred back to state court.
It was a victory for Multnomah County, but one that was short lived.
Late last week, the U.S. Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered Multnomah County’s case — along with lawsuits from Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin — to be rolled into the mushrooming collection of complaints pending before U.S. District Judge Dan Polster.
The panel said consolidation will “serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation.”
“Despite some factual variances among the actions, all of the cases now before us contain a factual core common to the (Multidistrict Litigation) actions: the manufacturing and distributor defendants’ knowledge of and conduct regarding the alleged diversion of these prescription opiates, as well as the manufacturers’ alleged improper marketing of such drugs,” the order reads.
Polster has urged the parties to settle by the end of the year and do so in a way that helps solve a national crisis.
“I did a little math,” Polster said at a January hearing. “About 150 Americans are going to die today, just today, while we’re meeting.”
The question is whether the county, which says it spends $20 million a year fighting the epidemic, will try to shake its case loose from the others and bring it back to Oregon.
“I would think this will make it more complicated for the county to get the case back to state court,” said Jeffrey Dobbins, associate professor at the Willamette University College of Law. “In some ways, having it in the midst of the larger discussions may be a good thing, as long as they think they can get useful results out of whatever settlement discussions take place in the Northern District of Ohio.”
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Apr 10, 2018 | Montgomery, AL
By WAKA (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132870?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: the city of montgomery is now suing several manufacturers of opioids. the lawsuit filed by the beasley allen law firm alleges the marketingf drugs contributed to the opioid epidemic, which has cau caused a financial burden to the city. the firm recently filed a similar suit on behalf of montgomery county. the lawsuit states montgomery and three other alabama cities ranked in the top 15 places in the country with the highest opioid abuse. companies named in the suit include purdue pharma and johnson and johnson.
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Apr 9, 2018 | Montgomery, AL
By WSFA (NBC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132977?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: the capital city is the latest local government to file suit against prescription drug manufacturers and distributors. the suit implicates the companies in the ongoing opioid cris. beasley allen law firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of the city of montgomery...cl aiming the marketing of these drugs has contributed to the opioid epidemic. beasley allen has filed similar lawsuits on behalf of a number of alabama municipalities and counties, as well as several governmental enties in other states. beasley allen is also representing the state of alabama in its opioid lawsuit against purdue pharmaceutical s.
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Apr 9, 2018 | Birmingham, AL
By WBRC (Fox)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132996?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: the city of montgomery is the latest government in our state to sue prescription drug manufacturers and distributors. the suit implicates the companies in the ongoing opioid crisis. beasley allen law firm filed the lawsuit on behalf of the city of montgomery...claim ing the marketing of these drugs has contributed to the opioid epidemic. beasley allen has filed similar lawsuits on behalf of a number of alabama municipalities and counties, as well as several governmental entities in other states and the state of alabama itself.
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Apr 9, 2018 | Madison, WI
By WMTV (NBC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132966?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: today dane county executive joe parisi will announce his plan to address the growing opioid cris. parisi says he will be taking another step forward in a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies that he claims are responsible.
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Apr 9, 2018 | Madison, WI
By WKOW (ABC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132983?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: dane county leaders are hiring a team of lawyers to sue drug manufacturers and distributors for their role in fueling the opiod crisis. the county announced the federal lawsuit last december. now.. texas lawfirm baron and budd will lead the charge. county executive joe parisi said the opioid crisis is wasting taxpayer dollars and hopes legal action will be part of a solution.
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Apr 9, 2018 | Colorado Springs, CO
By KKTV (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34132991?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: pueblo county has now joined in on the nationwide lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. we've told you before the county was debating it. today, they gave the final approval. the lawsuit is in an effort to stop the opioid cris. earlier this year, huerfano county announced they were going to sue because it's become such a problem in their area. the lawyers representing that county say the drug manufacturers are supplying enough pills to that community to give every man, woman and child 30-60 tablets every month.
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Apr 10, 2018 | Colorado Springs, CO
By KXRM (Fox)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133086?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: pueblo county commissioners have entered a national lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.the county has been one of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic in colorado. the lawsuit against major pharmaceutical companies, arguing the overprescribing of opioid prescription drugs contributed to thousands of heroin overdose deaths and other damages from those prescribed drug.
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Apr 10, 2018 | Seattle, WA
By KIRO (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133069?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: island county is the latest to consider joining a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. the whidbey news times reports -- county commissioners held a round-table discussion on the issue yesterday.but so far haven't reached a decision. the state is moving forward with it's lawsuit against opioid maker purdue pharma.on friday last week kiro 7 reported -- a judge rejected the company's request to dismiss the case,attorney general bob ferguson accuses purdue of fueling the opioid epidemic in washington, practing deceptive marketing, and convincing doctors the drugs treat chronic pain with low risk of addiction.purdue pharma denies those allegations. king, pierce, snohomish and thurston counties -- and the city of seattle -- have filed similar lawsuits against opioid makers.
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Apr 10, 2018 | Salt Lake City, (UT)
By KTVX (ABC)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133032?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: salt lake county leaders are taking the next step in the fight against opioid abuse in utah. county mayor ben mccadams and district attorney sim gill will announce plans to file a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. the lawsuit will accuse manufacturers of deceptive marketing practices. county leaders say... half of all fatal opioid overdoses in utah... every year... happen in salt lake county. we will have a crew at the announcement... and will bring you the discussion...
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Apr 10, 2018 | Salt Lake City, UT
By KUTV (CBS)
Video Link: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/34133095?token=15f07597-bc56-430e-8cf9-de78c9b90e57
Rough Transcript: salt lake county leaders will announce a lawsuit filed against opioid drug manufacturers later this morning. county leaders say it'sthe next step in holding opioid manufacturers accountable for the growing opioid problem here in utah. according to the lawsuit, salt lake county has been disproportionately affected with nearly half of all fatal overdoses in utah occurring in the county every year. the announcement is set to take place at 10:00 this morning at the salt lake county district attorney building
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