Strongsville Suing Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors

STRONGSVILLE, OH — The city of Strongsville is following the example of the state of Ohio and other communities in suing the manufacturers and distributors of prescription painkillers. Other communities with similar lawsuits include Cleveland, Brunswick and Parma.

“These companies have made substantial profits while fueling the prescription drug epidemic,” Strongsville Law Director Neal Jamison said in a post on the city's website.

Like other lawsuits filed against the prescription pain killer drug makers, Strongsville's lawsuit will now seek a specific monetary compensation, leaving the sought after total unspecified. It says the compensation being sought is for cost

The city is hiring two law firms — Climaco, Wilcox, Peca & Garofoli, a Cleveland law firm, and Napoli Shkolnik, a professional limited liability company in New York – to pursue the lawsuit. However, Strongsville will not pay legal fees to the firms unless it wins the lawsuit and receives a monetary award. Then the attorneys would receive a percentage.

The city's online post did not say specifically which companies would be targeted. Instead, the city only said the lawsuit will "take aim at companies that have created “a public nuisance to the citizens of our community through their massive sales and distribution of millions of doses of highly addictive, commonly abuses prescription painkillers,” according to Jamison.

Strongsville unveiled an initiative to stymie the flow of opioids into the city, and to help those battling addiction, during the summer of 2017. The city announced it would offer a "Safe Passages" initiative for individuals seeking assistance for addiction. Those people will be able to walk into the police station and ask for help.

The Ohio State Higway Patrol has also assumed primary enforcement and response duties along I-71. That allows Strongsville officers to concentrate on policing neighborhoods.

Finally, the city rolled out a Quick Response Team. Police, fire departments, and the Strongsville faith community will send a team of specialists to meet with overdose survivors and their families. The specialists will go over treatment options, referrals, recovery support and other options for people battling addiction.

Last month, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the state of Ohio was filing a lawsuit against four opioid manufacturers: McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health and its subsidiaries, AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation and Miami-Luken, Inc.

The companies are specifically accused of oversupplying millions of prescription opioid pills in the state, some of which were diverted away from legal sales and into the hands of people battling addiction. DeWine wants the companies to pay punitive damages, as well as compensatory damages to the state for its increased spending on healthcare, criminal justice, social services and education. The lawsuit also wants the four companies to comply with reporting requirements for suspicious orders and to undertake more complete reporting to the DEA and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, along with the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

To read the full lawsuit, click here.

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