Wisconsin, New York firms join forces in lawsuits against opioid manufacturers

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A Milwaukee-area law firm and a New York law firm are teaming up to help in Wisconsin’s fight against opioid addiction.

Representing 28 counties, the firms filed lawsuits against several pharmaceutical companies in federal court last week. The defendants include Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Among other things, the counties are alleging that the companies knew that their products were addictive and unsafe for use over long periods yet went on to market them to doctors. The products, the suit alleges, were deemed safe and effective not only to treat short-term and severe pain but also less severe, long-term pain caused by conditions such as arthritis. These allegedly dishonest practices, according to the suit, have deprived counties of money by causing them to spend more on law enforcement, human services, social services, the courts and other resources.

As causes of action, the suit alleges there were violations of the Wisconsin Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a public nuisance, conspiracy, an intentional misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

The relief  counties are seeking includes compensatory and punitive damages, costs and attorneys’ fees and a declaratory judgment to stop the alleged public nuisance.

Hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed throughout the country. Nearly 100 have been filed by New York-based Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the country’s largest law firms specializing in mass torts. The total damages could add up to hundreds of billions of dollars, said Paul Hanly, lead counsel and shareholder at Simmons Hanly Conroy. He said there could be more lawsuits filed in Wisconsin.

“History teaches that ultimately, in many cases, this does change the behavior of corporate defendants,” said Hanly. “We think litigation is the most effective way to provide reimbursement to these entities that have been hemorrhaging money as a result of the misconduct.”

Whitefish Bay-based Crueger Dickinson joined in after its owners and founders, Charles Crueger and Erin Dickinson, got a lesson in the evils of opiate addiction while trying a case for three weeks in the Northern District of Ohio. Crueger said he and Dickinson heard regularly about the opioid epidemic during breaks, when they could listen in as the court dealt with parole violations and other situations that are often related to addiction.

“We started looking at it, reading about how this came about and decided it was a cause worth taking up and decided to do something about it,” said Crueger.

“Quite frankly, it’s a privilege to do these cases,” he said. “Erin and I are very proud to do these cases. There’s no enjoyment in fact that you have to bring them because it’s such a tragic issue. There’s the pride that you’re on the side of right and you’re trying to advance the side of right and help counties that actually have had all kinds of issues financially and deal with the brunt of this crisis.”

The lawsuits filed by the two firms are not the only ones to use litigation to deal with the consequences of the state’s struggles with painkiller addiction.

Last year, lawyers from Milwaukee-based Gruber Law Offices filed a lawsuit against a Manitowoc doctor on behalf of four families whose relatives died from drug overdoses. That lawsuit, however, was a medical-malpractice suit that used a theory of recovery involving the state’s racketeering law, which is typically used to prosecute organized crime.