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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018
Everett’s opioid lawsuit joined to other cases in federal court
Dozens of other
court actions
By SCOTT NORTH and
NOAH HAGLUND
The Everett Herald
EVERETT, Wash. —
Everett likely will face a lon-
ger, slower path as it attempts
to prove that the maker of
the powerful pain medica-
tion OxyContin chased prof-
its while knowingly supply-
ing drug traffickers and others
who set up a thriving illicit
market for its pills.
The city sued Purdue
Pharma nearly a year ago,
accusing the company of laying
the foundation for the commu-
nity’s opioid woes by allowing
its product to find its way into
“pill mills” and drug rings.
Attorneys representing the
city this fall beat back a con-
certed attempt by the drug
maker to have the case dis-
missed without trial. That
should have cleared the way
for the discovery phase of the
litigation in U.S. District Court
in Seattle, including demands
for records and depositions
with key company figures.
But an early December
decision by a federal judicial
panel means big changes for
the case.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on
Multidistrict Litigation has
ordered the Everett case joined
with more than five dozen
of other similar civil actions
pending in federal courts
around the country, including
Kentucky, West Virginia, Ala-
bama, Illinois, California and
Ohio. It has assigned them all
to Judge Dan A. Polster of the
U.S. District Court for north-
ern Ohio, based in Cleveland.
Everett argued that its case
raises unique claims, that it
should remain in Washington
state, and barring that option,
the other lawsuits should have
been sent here. U.S. District
Court Chief Judge Ricardo
Martinez spent much of the
year addressing the legal
issues raised by the city’s alle-
gations, Seattle-based attor-
ney Christopher Huck wrote in
court papers filed on the city’s
behalf.
Combining cases now
“would essentially place Ever-
ett’s action on hold” while the
other litigants spar over unre-
lated pretrial matters, and
“unfairly delay Everett the
badly-needed relief sought
in its lawsuit (perhaps for
years),” Huck wrote.
The judicial panel said
it is convinced the benefits
in efficiency outweigh other
concerns.
“All of the actions can be
expected to implicate com-
mon fact questions as to the
allegedly improper marketing
and widespread diversion of
prescription opiates into states,
counties and cities across the
nation, and discovery likely
will be voluminous,” the trans-
fer order reads. “Although
individualized factual issues
may arise in each action, such
issues do not — especially at
this early stage of litigation —
negate the inefficiencies to be
gained by centralization.”
The transfer order also
applies to the lawsuit Tacoma
filed against Purdue in
September.
Seattle and Washington
state Attorney General Bob
Ferguson are pursuing their
claims in state court. Fergu-
son’s suit accuses the drug
maker and affiliated compa-
nies of deceptive marketing.
“This public lawsuit is
unique because Purdue aggres-
sively marketed what was
essentially an uncontrolled
experiment on the American
public,” the state’s lawsuit
alleges. “There was, and is,
no reliable evidence that opi-
oids are effective at relieving
chronic pain in the long term.”
Others may join
Snohomish County may
join the legal fray.
In December, the County
Council authorized hiring
the same law firm as Everett
to explore legal action. The
county hasn’t committed to a
lawsuit at this point, but will
explore the possibility.
“The opioid epidemic has
devastated our communities,
whether urban, suburban, or
rural,” County Executive Dave
Somers said. “It is costing us
in human life, in resources,
and in suffering. This step will
allow us to explore whether
we can recover damages and
hold accountable those most
responsible for the epidemic.
We will do all we can to pro-
tect our residents and look out
for their interests.”
Snohomish County saw 30
opioid-related deaths during
the first half of 2017. In the
preceding decade, prescrip-
tion drugs have caused the
most overdose deaths year
over year. The share of the
deaths from heroin overdoses
increased dramatically in
recent years. Both Everett and
the state’s lawsuits allege that
many addicts started out abus-
ing OxyContin, only to switch
to heroin to feed their habit.
The Snohomish Health Dis-
trict recorded 37 opioid over-
doses during a single week in
July, three of them fatal.
In November, public
health, law enforcement and
other local officials launched
a coordinated response to the
threat. Any legal action would
be another part of that multi-
pronged approach.
“The criminal justice sys-
tem isn’t designed or equipped
to deal with the opioid epi-
demic and using the jail as the
county’s largest de facto detox
center isn’t a solution,” Sher-
iff Ty Trenary said. “It’s time
to go upstream to address the
problem and hold big pharma
— the largest suppliers of opi-
oids — responsible.”
If the county goes to court,
it could follow the same legal
path against Purdue as state
and local agencies. Or it
could try an entirely different
approach, naming other drug
makers or distributors.
The county prosecut-
ing attorney’s office lacks the
in-house expertise to pursue
the complicated and time-con-
suming case.
“This action demonstrates
the commitment by the coun-
ty’s elected officials to tackle
the opioid epidemic head-on,
whether it be in the streets or
in the courtroom,” said Jason
Cummings, the county’s chief
civil deputy prosecutor.
Huge windfall
While the suits may serve
the public interest, they also
promise a huge windfall for
the trial bar as they take on the
deep-pocketed pharmaceutical
industry.
The county’s contract will
pay Seattle-based Kelley,
Goldfarb, Huck, Roth & Rio-
jas, PLLC a 20 percent fee
of any damages awarded, up
to $10 million. The percent-
age would decline slightly for
amounts above $10 million.
Attorney fees are capped at
$30 million.
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