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Luzerne County will initiate litigation against prescription opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors attempting to make them pay for the drug epidemic’s drain on county finances and resources, a council majority decided Tuesday.
County Manager C. David Pedri, who sought the action, agreed to council members’ insistence that they vote on the selection of a law firm recommended by the administration.
The chosen firm must handle the suit on a contingency basis, which means the county would pay litigation expenses only if funds are recovered.
Pedri said he already has discussed the potential engagement with six national law firms and will continue researching others. He expects the county will end up paying a firm between 25 and 33 percent of any recovery.
The administration plans to present a law firm recommendation to council on Oct. 10.
Councilman Harry Haas asked if Pedri considered joining other counties in a class action suit. Delaware and neighboring Lackawanna County have filed individual suits to date, and numerous other counties are considering the option.
Pedri said he expects class action litigation similar to past suits involving the tobacco industry. While he will continue monitoring what’s happening elsewhere, Pedri said he believes the financial toll on the county is high enough to merit a standalone suit.
“I’m fine going in alone, but I truly think this will be a multi-jurisdictional lawsuit at some point,” he said.
Haas said manufacturers and distributors — the ones the county plans to sue weren’t named — should be held accountable because an increase in opioid prescriptions heavily contributed to the “crisis.”
“I think there is some responsibility there,” Haas said.
Pedri said manufacturers and wholesalers have “flooded the market” with opioids, pointing to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic indicating 85 of every 100 county residents had opioid prescriptions in 2016.
He and his staff estimate $6 million in county prison expenses and another $6 million in Children and Youth costs are linked to opioid addiction this year.
“That’s $12 million in two of our departments in this county alone,” Pedri said.
Council members Stephen A. Urban, Edward Brominski and Kathy Dobash were the lone votes against pursuing litigation.
The suit would allege the manufacturing companies pushed highly addictive and dangerous opioids while falsely representing to doctors that patients would rarely become addicted, Pedri has said. Distributors breached their legal duties to monitor, detect, investigate, refuse and report suspicious orders of prescription opioids, Pedri stated.
A council majority also approved a tax break Tuesday to bring plastic manufacturing company IRIS USA to the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazle Township.
IRIS is seeking a full real estate tax break on new construction — not the land — in the first year. The discount would be lowered to 90 percent in the second year and continue decreasing by 10 percent annually, with all taxes owed after a decade.
Council members had previously questioned conflicting figures on compensation for the facility’s employees.
Chet Keizer, president of IRIS USA, told council Tuesday the average wage is projected at more than $16 per hour, or $34,394 annually. The company also has a “very rich” benefits package, he noted.
The facility would open next year and employ approximately 90 — most in manufacturing positions — with plans to expand to 150 workers, Keizer said.
The Hazle Township property will be the company’s fourth in the country and is needed to accommodate growth, Keizer said.
The company has “absolutely fallen in love” with the site because it has rail access, is close to distribution centers for Amazon and others that sell its organizational storage bins and other products and has a very strong workforce and sense of community, he said.
The tax break will help offset the company’s initial purchase and construction investment, which was originally between $45 million and $50 million but has been upped to more than $80 million, Keizer told council.
Nine of the 11 council members supported the tax break, with Brominski and Dobash voting no.