Maverick County Commissioners Court May Hire Legal Counsel To File Lawsuit Against Pharmaceutical Companies For Causing Opioid Crisis

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017

Maverick County Commissioners Court will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, at 5 P.M. at Commissioners Courtroom, 500 Quarry Street, in Eagle Pass, Texas to tackle many agenda items, including Agenda Items No. 24 and 25 regarding the discussion and possible action to hire the legal partnership team of Luis Roberto Vera, Jr. & Associates, P.C. of San Antonio, Texas and Napoli Shkonick, P.C. of New York, New York to pursue litigation on behalf of Maverick County in Opioid Litigation against various pharmaceutical companies.

The United States, including Maverick County, is undergoing a serious opioid addiction crisis that is causing many deaths throughout the country.  Opioids are drugs used as painkillers by prescription and non-prescription methods such as hydrocone and heroin.  Approximately 60 percent of all overdose deaths are caused by opioids including 1,186 deaths in Texas in 2015 and over 33,000 deaths in the Untited States.

There is a new legal trend in the United States to sue pharmaceutical companies that manufacture, distribute, and market  opioids for the overdose deaths caused by opioids. Some states have already filed federal lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, but Texas has not done so yet as it is currently collaborating with 41 states in studying the effects of opioids in overdose deaths. 

One Texas county, Upshur County in East Texas, already filed a federal lawsuit against some of the pharmaceutical companies, alleging that Upshur County has spent a large amount of public funds in public health costs on its citizens caused by the Opiod crisis within their county and in the United States while pharmaceutical companies have manufactured and marketed the use of Opiod painkillers to the public and have not been held accountable for their negligence and fraudulent marketing campaigns.  Other Texas counties are studying this lawsuit and several of them are planning on joining the federal lawsuit. 

According to Maverick County Commissioners Court’s agenda for its October 10, 2017 meeting, Maverick County is going to discuss and take possible action to contract (hire) the legal partnership team of Luis Roberto Vera, Jr. & Associates, Maverick County’s General Counsel from San Antonio, and the New York City-headquartered personal injury law firm of Napoli Shkolnick, P.C. to represent and pursue litigation against various pharmaceutical companies on behalf of Maverick County taxpayers for the Opiod crisis within the county as well as the United States.

Luis Roberto Vera, Jr. & Associates of San Antonio is a civil law firm that represents voting rights, election law, civil rights, family law, personal injury law, and civil litigation in Texas.  Founder and partner Luis Roberto Vera, Jr. currently represents Maverick County and other Maverick County Officials in the SB 4 “Sanctuary Law” federal lawsuit in San Antonio, Texas and the United States Firth Circuit Court of Appeals. Vera is also national general counsel for the Leaugue of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)) and a close political ally of Maverick County Judge David Saucedo.

The purpose of the federal lawsuit against pharmeucitical companies for the Opiod crisis is to obtain a money judgment for the public health costs incurred  by governmental entities in providing public health care services to their citizens.  In the event of a legal victory or settlement, the legal partnership team of Luis Roberto Vera, Jr. an Napoli Shkolnick would earn a certain contingency fee percentage of any gross recovery on behalf of Maverick County taxpayers plus court costs and expenses, leaving a net recovery judment or settlement amount to the general fund or public health fund of Maverick County citizens.  In the event there is no recovery judment or settlement, Maverick County may either not have to pay these attorneys any fees or may have to pay them their reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, and expenses.  The October 10th posted Commissioners Court Agenda does not specify the terms of the contract between Maverick County and these two legal firms.

Maverick County Commissioners Court is composed of County Judge David Saucedo and Commissioners Jerry Morales, Rosy Cantu, Pete Venegas, Jr., and Roberto Ruiz.

The Maverick County Commissioners Court October 10th special meeting is open to the public.