City invited to join opioid maker lawsuit

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council heard a presentation concerning a lawsuit against opioid prescription manufacturers and Mayor Jerry Mazur lauding first-responders for their efforts in recent house fires during its regular meeting Monday.

J. Alan Smith, a partner in the Lima law firm of Cory Meredith Witter & Smith LPA, provided information on a legal action he has filed against manufacturers of opioid medication, as well as wholesalers and distributors of the drugs, and inviting Van Wert city officials to join the litigation.

Smith, who has been a litigator for nearly three decades, noted that his law firm is currently representing the City of Lima, and Van Wert and Allen counties in one of 55 lawsuits filed against opioid prescription drug manufacturers that are being tried in a Cleveland court.

The Lima attorney offered the City of Van Wert an opportunity to participate in the lawsuit at no cost to the city.

“The best part is there’s no risk to the City of Van Wert,” Smith said, noting that the law firms involved would take 25 percent of a resulting settlement or court decision as their fee, with expenses of the suit coming from the 25 percent. “The city only stands to gain, there’s nothing to lose.”

Smith also talked briefly about the huge problem opioid medications have caused in the United States.

“It’s kind of startling when you start looking at the facts, and the numbers that are already known,” he noted. “Every day, 150 people in the United States die of a drug overdose; of that 150, 60 percent are from some form of opioid medication.”

Smith said overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 55, something he said is unprecedented.

In addition to the Cleveland lawsuit, several state attorneys general, including Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, have also filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, Smith said, noting that the U.S. Department of Justice is also involved in the Cleveland lawsuit as a “friend of the court.”

Even if the city does not decide to join the Lima lawsuit, Smith said Van Wert officials should retain somebody to represent them in the matter — and should do so as soon as possible because of possible statute of limitations issues down the road.

The attorney said Van Wert officials should consider the additional expenses the city has undergone because of the opioid crisis: the cost of Naloxone (Narcan), additional man-hours for police and fire employees for overdose runs, and court expenses to prosecute and incarcerate people who commit crimes related to their drug habits.

Also Monday, Main Street Van Wert Executive Director Dan Baisden talked about several downtown matters, including the fact that state officials would be in the downtown area later this week to tour buildings in conjunction with an application to place the downtown district on the National Historical Register.

MSVW is also in the running for a $25,000 award through a contest sponsored by Independent We Stand, a national small business organization.

Mayor Mazur commended first-responders for saving at least one life in a recent fire on North Walnut Street.

“I think it’s heroic for them to go into a burning building and make every attempt to rescue those in there,” he said. “You have to look at what they do on an everyday basis; I have a lot of admiration for them and what they do.”

The mayor also lauded the fire department for its firefighting efforts in a number of recent house fires.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming noted that police officer Steve Richardson is retiring from the department and that John Motycka, a utility operator with 30 years of experience, will be the new city wastewater treatment superintendent.

City Auditor Martha Balyeat talked about the open checkbook program the city participated in, noting that she recently posted financials from 2017 on the Auditor of State website related to the program.

The auditor also talked briefly about city revenues, noting that the General Fund was ahead 2017 revenues by $7,500, while also saying that the city was on track to meet revenue projections for 2018.

Council also requested adoption of a then-and-now certificate for several expenses not covered by purchase orders.

Balyeat also talked about an Ohio Municipal League regional event that city officials might want to attend.

First Ward Councilman Jeff Agler also brought up possible violations of city trash regulations related to trash pick-ups on Saturday, noting that he has received a number of complaints about some trash haulers picking up trash on Saturdays.

The mayor and Fleming noted that, from what they have seen, most of the Saturday trash pick-ups have occurred during weeks that featured a holiday, but added they would continue to monitor the situation.

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, in Council Chambers on the top floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.