Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly
ALEXANDRIA (AP) Two local governments in Virginia are filing civil lawsuits against drug manufacturers seeking to recover money spent fighting the nation’s opioid crisis.
The city of Alexandria in northern Virginia and Dickenson County in southwest Virginia filed the lawsuits Wednesday in state court.
Local governments across the country have been filing similar lawsuits, but lawyers representing Alexandria and Dickenson County say they are the first such lawsuits in Virginia.
The lawsuits seek at least $100 million in damages for Alexandria and $30 million for Dickenson County. Numerous drugmakers are named as defendants.
Law firms Sanford Heisler Sharp and The Cicala Law Firm are representing the local governments. Sandford Heisler describes itself as a public interest class-action litigation firm with offices in New York, Washington and three other cities. The Cicala Law Firm is a Texas-based plaintiff’s litigation firm that pursues claims “in the health care space.”
In February, supervisors in Scott County voted to join a class action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors, according to the (Kingsport) TimesNews.
Additional reporting by VLW.
