FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
February 6, 2018
Steve Marshall
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
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ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT
AGAINST MAJOR OPIOID MANUFACTURER PURDUE PHARMA FOR
VIOLATION OF ALABAMA DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES ACT
(MONTGOMERY) -Attorney General Steve Marshall announced today that the State of
Alabama has filed suit against Purdue Pharma, L.P., Purdue Frederick Company Inc.,
and Rhodes Pharmaceuticals, L.P. (collectively “Purdue”), the manufacturers and
sellers of prescription opioid pain medications, including the brand name drugs
OxyContin, MS Contin, Dilaudid/Dilaudid HP, Butrans, Hysingla ER, and Targiniq ER,
as well as generic opioids. Alabama’s complaint asserts that Purdue violated
Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act in the marketing and sale of opioid drugs and,
in so doing, jeopardized the public health, welfare, and safety of Alabama residents.
The State is seeking both monetary damages and injunctive relief.
“The opioid epidemic has devastated Alabama families, leaving a trail of addiction and
death winding though every community of this state,” said Attorney General Marshall.
“Alabama ranks first in the nation for the number of painkiller prescriptions per capita.
As a result, it is estimated that almost 30,000 of our residents over age 17 are dependent
upon heroin and prescription painkillers. Alabama’s drug overdose death rate
skyrocketed by 82 percent from 2006 to 2014 and it is believed that many of those
deaths were from opioid painkillers and heroin.
“It will take years to undo the damage but an important first step we must take is to
hold the parties responsible for this epidemic legally liable for the destruction they have
unleashed upon our citizens. Today, I have filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma – the
manufacturer of OxyContin and other opioids – in federal court here in Montgomery,
and I anticipate that the suit will be transferred to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the
national multi-district litigation.”
On August 8, 2017, Governor Kay Ivey named Attorney General Marshall co-chair of
the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council, a Council that the Governor
established to “develop and submit a strategic action plan to the Governor by December
31, 2017, that establishes recommendations for policy, regulatory and legislative actions
to address the overdose crisis in Alabama.” That Council issued its 74-page Action Plan
on December 31, 2017. Attorney General Marshall also attended a court-ordered
settlement conference in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 31, 2018.
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov Page 2 of 2
The State has retained two law firms, Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles,
P.C. of Montgomery and Prince, Glover & Hayes of Tuscaloosa to prosecute Alabama’s
claims on a contingency basis, under the supervision of attorneys from the Attorney
General’s Office. The contract was undertaken in accordance with the 2013
Transparency in Private Attorney Contracts Act.
Link to the complaint and contingency contract.
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