Maverick County, Texas Files Lawsuit Against 24 Pharmaceutical Companies for Opioids Epidemic in State District Court

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

Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo held a press conference on Monday, October 30, 2017, to announce that Maverick County, Texas had filed a lawsuit in Maverick County District Court against 24 pharmaceutical companies for the Opioids Epidemic on Friday, October 27th, becoming the second county in the State of Texas to file such a lawsuit and the first county in the State to file in a State District Court.

Joining County Judge Saucedo were Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber and Legal Counsel Luis R. Vera, Jr. of San Antonio, Texas. Sheriff Schmerber stated that the Maverick County Sheriff’s Department has had to deal with an increase of opioids’ cases within Maverick County during recent years.

Legal Counsel Luis R. Vera, Jr. stated that his law firm of Vera & Associates and New York City law firm Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC filed the historic lawsuit against the 24 pharmaceutical companies in Maverick County District Court on behalf of Maverick County, Texas, becoming the first county in Texas to file in state district court.  Vera also noted that Maverick County is the first county in South Texas to file a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies for creating, perpetuating, and continuing the opioids addiction epidemic in Maverick County and the United States.

The lawsuit is styled Maverick County, Texas versus Purdue Pharma, L.P. Et Al, Cause No. 17-10-34909.  It joins 23 other pharmaceutical companies as defendants.

Maverick County’s lawsuit alleges that “this case is about one thing: corporate greed. Defendants put their desire for profits above the health and well-being of Maverick County consumers at the cost of Plaintiff.”

The lawsuit alleges that the 24 pharmaceutical companies designed and developed a sophisticated scheme to market and distribute opioids medications to consumers as pain killers, causing consumers to become addicted to opioids and leading them to overdose and serious illness, including death from overdosing.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages in an amount sufficient to to fairly and completely compensate Maverick County for all damages, treble (triple) damages, penalties, costs, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, interest, costs and disbursements, and such other further relief that the Court deems just and proper.

This lawsuit may force the pharmaceutical companies to have to litigate all of their Texas opioids addiction cases in Maverick County District Court instead of federal court.  Alternatively, the pharmaceutical companies may seek to remove this lawsuit to federal district court.