Edmond looks to join opioid fight

It’s a growing issue, one that now maybe we are more attuned to as we see articles every day that talk about this either in our state, or throughout the country. It just seemed to make sense to pursue this course of action.” Edmond City Manager Larry Stevens

EDMOND — Signalling its intent to join the opioid fight, the city has tapped outside lawyers to pursue possible legal action against drug manufacturers and distributors it believes are responsible for causing widespread addiction and skyrocketing health care costs.

The Edmond City Council voted 4-0 last week, with Ward 3 Councilman Darrell Davis absent, to retain the legal services of McAfee and Taft, as well as Fulmer Sill Law, should Edmond sue the pharmaceutical makers.

Both law firms are based in Oklahoma City.

Agreements with the firms are contingencybased, meaning attorney costs and other expenses would be paid from any lawsuit settlement, according to city documents. There is no upfront cost to taxpayers, officials said.

“It’s a growing issue, one that now maybe we are more attuned to as we see articles every day that talk about this either in our state, or throughout the country,” City Manager Larry Stevens said. “It just seemed to make sense to pursue this course of action.”

Other cities’ plans

Against the backdrop of the state attorney general’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, Edmond joins cities across Oklahoma that either have pursued legal action or are considering it.

Earlier this month, Guthrie also retained McAfee and Taft, and Fulmer Sill Law. In August, the city of Oklahoma City retained services from the firms. The city of Moore is considering an agreement with another law group.

An Edmond lawsuit could end up consolidated with hundreds of similar cases filed by cities, counties and states. Presiding over the cases is U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland, Ohio.

Kathleen Morris, an associate professor at Golden Gate University and former deputy city attorney in San Francisco, said municipalities retain outside law firms when cases are especially complicated.

As for law firms that offer contingency services, they typically only take on cases they think they can win, she said.

“There’s a profit motive for sure, but that’s the business model for civil law enforcement in the U.S.,” Morris said. “It’s a check on whether it’s a good case. Contingency lawyers, if they don’t agree it’s a good case, they are not going to take it.”

Like tobacco lawsuits

Morris compared the opioid lawsuits to the tobacco settlement in 1998 when producers agreed to pay $206 billion to 46 states over a 25-year period.

“These companies are making a living and transferring the costs of their use onto the taxpayer,” she said. “Their business has a side effect. In the tobacco case, it’s cancer, victims showing up in county hospitals and being treated on the taxpayer dime. It is externalizing the negative effects of a product.”

Cities, counties and states will have to show the court how much taxpayer money they have spent dealing with the opioid crisis, when those funds could have gone to public projects, Morris said.

“What we’re talking about at the end of the day is taxpayer money that gets lost,” she said.

In July, Attorney General Mike Hunter cited restrictions in state law on cities’ ability to recover damages in such cases.

But Hunter likely won’t intervene in local lawsuits.

“The lawsuit filed against defendant opioid manufacturers by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) pending in Cleveland County includes and intends to recover all damages attributable to the opioid epidemic sustained by the state of Oklahoma and all governmental subdivisions for which the named defendants are legally responsible for,” Hunter said in an email.

“The OAG will endeavor to harmonize and reconcile its advocacy in this matter with law firms separately retained by cities and counties to pursue redress for damages from companies whose actions brought about the opioid epidemic.”

Cost unknown now

In Edmond, Larry Stevens, the city manager, said retaining outside counsel was “probably the most appropriate” course of action.

Money from a potential settlement could be used for opioid addiction treatment and proactive measures to fight the crisis locally, he said.

But like other cities across the nation, Edmond doesn’t know how many potential settlement dollars will go to fight the opioid crisis locally, and how much will go into the bank accounts of law firms.

“We really don’t have any idea on that in terms of what comes Edmond’s way,” Stevens said. “That’s probably quite a ways down the road. It will take quite a while for it to play out.”