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Summit County Is Latest Local Government To Sue Over Opioid Crisis

Summit County plans to file the suit in the local common pleas court. [Nick Castele / ideastream]

Summit County plans to take drug companies to court in the latest local government lawsuit filed over the opioid crisis.

Officials in Summit County have scheduled a news conference Thursday morning to announce the suit. This case will be filed in county common pleas court.

Suits by Cuyahoga County and other local and state governments nationwide have been consolidated into a federal case in the Northern District of Ohio, overseen by a judge based in Cleveland.

Cuyahoga County accuses pharmaceutical companies of deceptively marketing painkillers, leading to increased local costs for addiction treatment and other services.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is pursuing a similar suit in Ross County. Several defendants, including Purdue Pharma, have asked a judge to dismiss that case.

In an emailed statement, John Puskar, a Purdue spokesman, denied the allegations in the federal case.

“We are deeply troubled by the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis,” the statement reads, “and are dedicated to being part of the solution.”

Nick Castele was a senior reporter covering politics and government for Ideastream Public Media. He worked as a reporter for Ideastream from 2012-2022.