Last week, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office took its first steps to sue an opioid company — Purdue Pharma — over its alleged role in the state’s addiction crisis. Now, some local communities may soon follow with lawsuits of their own.
Back in May, Manchester officials signed a contract with a New York-based law firm — Napoli Shkolnik — to explore the possibility of legal action against drug manufacturers.
Joseph Ciaccio, an attorney with the law firm, now says the city is likely to file a lawsuit against several opioid manufacturers and distributors within the next few weeks. The exact details of the lawsuit are not yet public, but Ciaccio said it would likely seek compensation for the local costs of the addiction crisis.
“The cities, the counties, they really felt the burden of the opioid epidemic, both financially and socially and every other way, and they’re the ones that really, in our opinion, know where the money needs to go," Ciaccio said.
Manchester officials did not return calls for comment on Wednesday.
The city of Nashua is also exploring a contract with the firm, and Ciaccio says the firm is talking with other communities across New Hampshire. Napoli Shkolnik has filed similar opioid-related lawsuits at the city and county level in New York, West Virginia, Ohio and other states.
