Berkeley To File Suit Against Opioid Manufacturers, Mayor Says

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - Enough.

Berkeley Township Council members have approved a contract with the Washington, DC- based law firm of Motley Rice LLC to represent the township in a suit against irresponsible pharmaceutical companies, in an effort to address the continuing opioid crisis.

"Opioids are addictive," Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said. "The drug makers knew it, but continued to push doctors to prescribe them. This has lead to the heroin epidemic that is plaguing our society today. Enough is enough, it's time to step in to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable." Mayor Amato said.

The Township Council passed a resolution at the Nov. 20 meeting calling for the law firm to to "investigate litigate, or negotiate for settlement, actionable claims that may be punished by the Township against individuals and entities related to the marketing, prescribing, distribution or sale of opioids..."

"The lawsuit will not cost the township any money, however, the firm will take a percentage of any settlement Berkeley may receive, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said.

So far, Motley Rice has filed complaints for Chicago and Santa Clara County, which both sued five drug companies for a number of violations in 2014, according to the company's website.

"Motley Rice is vigorously litigating both of these cases," the website states. "The Chicago case is the first opioids case to survive motions to dismiss and the only opioids case to have entered discovery."

The firm is also representing Brick Township and Toms River Township in New Jersey, Alaska, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Albany County, New York, Anne Arundel County in Maryland, and Erie County in Pennsyvlania.

The number of overdose deaths in Ocean County in 2016 was 212, far higher than the 69 reported in 2014.

Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, paid $635 million in fines in 2007 after pleading guilty to charges of false marketing brought by the Department of Justice, a Forbes report said.

The company also settled a lawsuit in 2015 with the state of Kentucky over "illegally misrepresented and/or concealed the highly addictive nature of OxyContin and encouraged doctors who weren't trained in pain management to overprescribe the opioid pain reliever to Kentucky patients," Forbes reported.

Watch: Slippery Battle For Patients Addicted To Opioids

Photo: Patch file photo