City to sue drugmakers over addictions

Heroin epidemic prompts legal action

The city of Lorain hopes to take drug makers to court to recover costs the city spends to deal with the continuing heroin epidemic.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley on June 5 announced the city would file a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies, distributors and physicians “responsible for the opioid epidemic.”

In that announcement, Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer said Lorain would file litigation as well.

“Cities big and small across Ohio are struggling to serve our citizens with the increasing number of accidental overdoses,” Ritenauer said in a statement with Whaley’s announcement.

“It is time that the companies and distributers who started this epidemic take responsibility for the communities that have been ravaged as a result of the medications they produce,” he said. “It is my sincere hope that mayors across the state will join Mayor Whaley and me as we pursue justice for Ohio communities.”

Later that day, Lorain City Council in its regular meeting of June 5 held a closed-door executive session for about an hour to discuss hiring the law firms Climaco, Wilcox, Peca & Garofolico LPA and Napoli Shkolnik PLLC for the legal fight.

Council then voted 10-0 to enter an agreement with the firm.

Before the vote, Ritenauer repeated his appeal while speaking to Council.

The law firm will “work with Lorain personnel to determine the costs that Lorain has incurred as a result of the over-prescription of opioids,” according to an agreement included with Council’s legislation.

The firm also will “determine the viable causes of action available to Lorain; and determine which if any manufacturers and distributors should be targeted in a lawsuit … for economic losses arising from the manufacture and distribution of opioids,” according to the agreement.

It was unclear exactly how the legal process would go forward.

Lorain Law Director Pat Riley said he expects a lawsuit to be filed in state court in the next two weeks. The city has not determined the exact cost of public safety personnel responding to heroin overdoses and opioid addiction, he said.

“We are working on that,” Riley said.

The city of Lorain could be “part of a large number of cases of the same nature, which may be handled as an aggregate, class or multiple groups for trial preparation and settlement negotiations,” according to an agreement included with Council’s legislation.

The city will not pay for the legal representation unless there is “a monetary recovery acceptable to Lorain,” according to the agreement.

Ritenauer