A major step has been made in Mecklenburg County’s effort to fight the opioid epidemic that has gripped the country.
County Manager Dena R. Diorio announced today that the County has engaged the law firms of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, Crueger Dickinson LLC and von Briesen & Roper, s.c. – to represent its interests in the pending opioid investigation. All have extensive experience in this type of litigation.
Mecklenburg County selected its team of attorneys from a large pool of qualified candidates. Co-lead attorney Paul Hanly is highly experienced in opioid litigation and in representing county government entities in multidistrict litigation.
He led the litigation that eventually resulted in a $634 million criminal misbranding judgement against Purdue Pharma.
Crueger Dickinson currently represents 150 counties nationwide in similar litigation.
Mecklenburg County has not filed a formal lawsuit yet. Any suit would be filed on a contingency basis, meaning Mecklenburg only pays legal fees if there is a monetary recovery obtained in favor of the County.
In North Carolina, several counties have filed lawsuits, while others are considering filing an action.
(article from mecknc.gov)