Mayor Alex B. Morse Law Department Cay of Holyoke Sune 15, 2018 Holyoke City Council 536 Dwight Street, Holyoke, MA 01040 Dear Honorable Councilors On February 30, 2018 and May 1, 2018, the Holyoke Law Department received orders from Councilors Sullivan and Leahy, respectively, requesting the Holyoke Law Department investigate joining ongoing litigation against Opioid Manufacturers responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic. ‘The mass tort litigation is not a class-action lawsuit, but rather Multi-District, Litigation (MDL) of a collection of over four hundred and fifty (450) lawsuits filed in federal courts actoss the country on behalf of individual municipalities claiming different but related damages caused by ihe opioid epidemic. The defendants include opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Endo International Ple and drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Heaith Inc and McKesson Corp. In the fall of 2017, the Law Department began evaluating its litigation position and potential counsel relationships with respect to the emergence of national opioid litigation against the drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors responsible for fucling the opioid epidemic. The Department considered proposals from national and local attorney groups, spoke with City Solicitors in surrounding communities, attended a March 2018 panel discussion on municipal involvement in the litigation held by the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyes Association (MMLA) and reviewed proposal materials obtained through a public records request to the City of Boston in. connection with Boston’s solicitation of litigation proposals. Based upon the above review, the City of Holyoke entered a representation agreement with the Massachusetts Opioid Litigation Attormeys (MOLA) consortium, which represents several multiple Western Massachusetts municipalities. The law firm of Sweeney Mertigan Law, LLP acts as regional counsel for the consortium, Among the primary reasons for selecting the MOLA consortium for engagement was the consortium’s collective expertise and focus on federal mass tort MDL, its strong representation on the MDL steering committee, and assurance that the City would not incur any litigation expenses unless successful in the litigation. Per the terms of the representation agreement, the City would pay a negotiated contingeney fee on any recovery but would not incur any expenses if the suit does not result in monetary 20 KOREAN VETERANS PLAZA - ROOM 204 - HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS 01040-5000 ‘TELEPHONE: (413) 322-5580 + FACSIMILE: (413) 822-5581 Birthplace of VolleyballMayor Alex B. Morse Law Department City of Holyoke recovery. Any legal expenses paid to counsel would be derived from a monetary recovery and in no event would any tax dollars be obligated through the representation, On Monday, May 14, 2018, the City of Holyoke, though its counsel, filed its complaint in the MDL alleging Pharmaceutical Drug Manufacturers fueled the opioid epidemic by pushing highly addictive, dangerous opioids and falsely representing to doctors that patients would only rarely succumb to drug addiction. The nationwide MDL cases have been consolidated into a single federal court in Ohio before U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster with a scheduled trial date of July 2019. L trust the above addresses your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you be interested in discussing further. Best Regards, AA Fe Bak - 20 KOREAN VETERANS PLAZA « ROOM 204 + HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS 01040-5000 ‘TELEPHONE: (413) 322-6680 - FACSIMILE: (413) 322-5581 Birthplace of Volleyball