OxyContin maker Purdue asks court to dismiss Everett lawsuit

EVERETT — Purdue Pharma, the maker of a prescription pain medication, is asking a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by the city of Everett that alleges the multibillion-dollar company ignored rampant diversion of OxyContin to the black market.

Purdue claims that the city’s allegations are largely based on a false theory that the pharmaceutical company didn’t alert law enforcement of illegal diversion. The records in two criminal prosecutions into drug trafficking show that “law enforcement was, at the time, already aware of, and investigating, the criminal conduct of physicians, pharmacies and gang members at issue,” Purdue’s attorney, Thomas Adams, wrote in court papers.

The motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle makes several legal arguments, including claims that Everett lacks the standing to sue the drug maker or hold it responsible for the city’s costs associated with responding to addiction and crime.

“While we are deeply troubled by the abuse and misuse of our medication, this lawsuit paints a completely flawed and inaccurate portrayal of events that led to the crisis in Everett,” the company wrote on its website.

Everett claims that Purdue allowed its product to flow into the hands of “pill mills” and drug rings. The diversion resulted in drug abuse, addiction and crime here, Everett’s lawyers claim. The Daily Herald first reported about the lawsuit in January.

Everett had been studying for months how to make a case that Purdue is responsible for the community’s surge in overdose deaths, homelessness and street crime, Mayor Ray Stephanson told The Daily Herald. Many believe that prescription pain medication abuse has led to the heroin crisis across the country.

“We are going to go at them, and we are going to go at them hard,” Stephanson said in January.

The lawsuit doesn’t name a dollar amount. It notes, however, that Everett has spent and will need to spend significant tax dollars to address addiction in the community.

“The city and our outside legal counsel have received Purdue’s response to our lawsuit, and we look forward to presenting our arguments to the court refuting Purdue’s position,” the city said in a statement released Tuesday. “The city remains committed to holding Purdue accountable for allowing OxyContin to be funneled into the black market, causing the current opioid crisis in Everett.

Purdue was sued a decade ago in Washington. Several states alleged it had engaged in deceptive marketing practices. The company agreed to pay the states $19.5 million as part of a consent judgment. Washington received more than $700,000. As part of the judgment, Purdue agreed to implement diversion detection programs.

Everett’s lawsuit claims that Purdue ignored its obligations. It points to the criminal prosecution of Jevon Lawson, a California transplant, living in Snohomish County, who was selling large amounts of OxyContin. The Daily Herald wrote about Lawson’s indictment in 2011.

The lawsuit also points to a drug ring in Los Angeles that “formed a clinic called Lake Medical to use as a front for its racketeering operation,” Seattle attorney Chris Huck wrote in the lawsuit. Everett hired Huck’s firm to take on Purdue.

The lawsuit included a series of emails reportedly from Purdue representatives about their knowledge of suspicious activity at Lake Medical.

Purdue disputes the claim, saying law enforcement was aware of Lake Medical and Lawson dating back to 2009.

Records show that federal agents and the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force had launched an investigation into Lawson in 2007. By June 2008, law enforcement had searched Lawson’s Mill Creek-area house and made undercover buys. He admitted then that he was selling OxyContin.

Purdue also claims that the Drug Enforcement Administration advised a wholesale distributor in 2009 that Lake Medical was under investigation.

“In short, Purdue cannot have been a proximate cause for not advising law enforcement what public filings demonstrate law enforcement already knew,” Adams wrote.

The city would impose a duty on Purdue to “protect local municipalities against intentional, illegal trafficking of that prescription drug by criminals in their municipalities based on an obligation to monitor and report to law enforcement ‘suspicious orders’ of the prescription drug more than 1,000 miles away,” Adams wrote.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

More in Local News

An Everett police officer and a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man Saturday, March 11, 2023, in the 800 block of 91st Place SW in Everett. (Everett Police Department)
Everett man killed in Saturday police shooting identified

Charles Hubbard, 58, was shot and killed by SWAT team members when they responded to a domestic violence call.

WSDOT workers open up the Smokey Point Rest Area on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Massive amount’ of homeless RV camping closed Smokey Point rest area

Since November, 38 homeless people were identified through outreach. Six have accepted housing offers with case management.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Mountlake Terrace in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Mountlake Terrace leaders weighing federal ARPA fund options

Bathrooms, body cameras, generators, radios, roadwork, roof replacement, sidewalks, trails and more loom for the $4.5 million.

Dominic Wilson looks at his mother while she addresses the court during his sentencing at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Grief remains after sentencing of Marysville teen’s killers

Dominic Wilson must serve 17½ years in prison, while his accomplice Morzae Roberts was given a sentence of four years.

Former Opus Bank/Cascade Bank building in downtown Everett on Thursday, March 16, 2023 in Everett, Washington. It is proposed as the new home of Economic Alliance Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Economic Alliance asks Everett for $300K to move downtown

The countywide chamber of commerce and economic development organization also would reform the Everett chamber.

The Washington State University Everett campus on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
WSU ends search to buy land for future branch campus in Everett

The university had $10M to spend. It tried for four years but couldn’t close deals with Everett’s housing authority or the city.

Marysville
Marysville man dies after motorcycle crash on Ingraham Boulevard

The man, 58, was heading east when he lost control in the single-vehicle crash, according to police.

Mukilteo Coffee Roasters co-owners Beth and Gary Smith in 2017. (Kyle Jensen / South Whidbey Record)
Mukilteo coffee roaster, 69, had personality as big as ‘thunderstorm’

“I knew at the first sip that this is what I wanted to do,” Gary Smith said. The founder of Mukilteo Coffee Roasters died this month.

NO CAPTION NECESSARY: Logo for the Cornfield Report by Jerry Cornfield. 20200112
Predict A Pen goes missing, a Republican wins a poll and a budget arrives

It’s Day 68. Here’s what’s happening in the 2023 session of the Washington Legislature.

Most Read