Two Kansas counties and two Missouri counties this week joined a growing tide of legal challenges to the opioid epidemic by accusing pharmaceutical companies of racketeering.
Montgomery and Bourbon counties in Kansas and Lafayette and Worth counties in Missouri filed suits in federal court against more than a dozen manufacturers and distributors, alleging nine of them are in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Bourbon County said in its suit that it is acting “to abate the public nuisance caused by rampant and uncontrolled opioid use and addiction, and to recoup taxpayer monies that have been spent because of defendants’ false, deceptive and unfair marketing and/or unlawful diversion and distribution of prescription opioids.”
The counties are represented by the Kansas City law firm of Wagstaff & Cartmell among others. Similar opioid RICO lawsuits have been filed in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Alabama.
(Read more: KC Star Local News)