New Hanover claims companies 'aggressively pushed' opioids, causing epidemic

NEW HANOVER COUNTY -- The county government has officially filed a lawsuit against makers and distributors of opioids, claiming they "aggressively pushed" their product, leading to the region's opioid epidemic.

The suit essentially claims the companies named in the suit engaged in racketeering using deceptive tactics, creating an ongoing public nuisance.

The county was expected to target distributors who serve as middlemen between drug makers and clinicians. It named several in its suit, including Amerisource Bergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.

"The distributors and manufacturers intentionally and/or unlawfully breached their legal duties under federal and state law to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opiates," the county's 167-page lawsuit reads.

But the lawsuit is notable because it also targets drug makers, naming several manufacturers specifically, including Purdue Pharma, Watson Pharmaceuticals and Johnson and Johnson. County and city leaders, who held a joint press conference last month on the planned action, had previously not indicated they would also target manufacturers.

Drug makers "aggressively pushed highly addictive, dangerous opioids, falsely representing to doctors that patients would only rarely succumb to drug addiction," the lawsuit reads. "These pharmaceutical companies aggressively advertised to and persuaded doctors to prescribe highly addictive, dangerous opioids and turned patients into drug addicts for their own corporate profit."

“The residents of New Hanover County are bearing the burden of the cost of the epidemic, as the costs of treatment for addiction, education and law enforcement continue to rise,” New Hanover Chairman Woody White said in a Friday release. “New Hanover County aims to have this suit accomplish two things: require the responsible parties to pay our taxpayers for the monetary damages caused, and to force them to follow federal law so we can stem the tide of this horrible epidemic, and help save lives.”

The Wilmington region has been hit particularly hard by the opioid epidemic, including one study identifying the region as the top place in the United States for opioid abuse.

The county's suit, filed in U.S. District Court, asks that drug makers and distributors pay for past and future costs to abate "the ongoing public nuisance caused by the opioid epidemic," establish an "abatement fund" for future costs and award damages for a host of costs, including medical care, addiction treatment, law enforcement and caring for children affected by the opioid crisis.

"Defendants chose profit over prudence, and the safety of the community, and an award of punitive damages is appropriate, as punishment and a deterrence," the suit reads.

With the filing, New Hanover joins a growing list of municipal governments that are going after drug makers for contributing to the nation's growing opioid epidemic.

Wilmington spokeswoman Malissa Talbert said the city is still actively considering filing its own suit.

Reporter Tim Buckland can be reached at 910-343-2217 or Tim.Buckland@StarNewsOnline.com.