Nevada files wide-ranging new lawsuit against dozens of opioid manufacturers, retailers

Nevada's top cop says drugmakers lied and residents died

James DeHaven
Reno Gazette-Journal
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford pictured in an undated file photo taken while serving as a state senator.

More than 40 opioid manufacturers pushed doctors to prescribe addictive medication and downplayed the side effects of doing so, according to a new lawsuit filed against the companies by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford.

The 250-page complaint goes on to accuse top drugmakers and distributors — among them Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Walgreens and CVS — of creating, and profiting from, a public health crisis.

"It boils down to one simple principle: These companies lied to us, and thousands of people died because of their greed," Ford said during a Monday press conference at Reno City Hall. "For years these companies have curated fake science, fake medical associations, fake publications, fake experts and fake medical conditions. All to deceive our doctors into thinking these drugs are safe. They lied."

More:How Kelly Coltrain died in a rural Nevada jail

Related:Reno doctor, seven others charged with trafficking opioids

The filing expands on a complaint Ford’s predecessor carried against Purdue, the maker of Oxycontin. The state quietly dropped that suit this month. Reno and several other Nevada municipalities have waged their own legal fight against the drugmaker.

The Biggest Little City was Ford's second stop on a day-long tour announcing the suit. He and Mayor Hillary Schieve presented a united front in the fight against over-prescribing highly addictive opiates.

“Several months ago, I vowed we would go after these drug manufacturers," Schieve said. “It got a little contentious. The state told us it wouldn't be possible, and we'd be doing it separately. ... I certainly want to express a huge amount of gratitude to Attorney General Ford. This wouldn't be possible without him."

Nevada received a $5.6 million federal grant to help fight the opioid epidemic.

Schieve went on to blame opioids for much of a citywide uptick in homelessness and drug use, a point largely echoed by local law enforcement officials.

Nevada officials reported 11.4 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 residents in 2018. Here as elsewhere, poor, rural residents have been especially hard-hit by the deadly epidemic.

The state’s latest lawsuit against opioid producers is being brought by Las Vegas-based law firm Eglet Adams — Ford’s former employer. The first-term attorney general and former state Senate majority leader recused himself from the search for an outside firm to represent the state.

Eglet Adams’ contract allows the firm to make a maximum of $350 million on damages recovered in excess of $1.5 billion. Ford played a key role in scrapping the state’s earlier, $10 million cap on such payouts, a move that drew fire from Republican critics.

Monday’s filing won praise from the sheriffs of Humboldt and Washoe counties, as well as Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong. Washoe County Commission Chair Vaughn Hartung and  Douglas County Manager Patrick Cates also applauded the suit in a joint statement.

James DeHaven is the politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. He covers campaigns, the Nevada Legislature and everything in between. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here