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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — On Sunday, 124 Massachusetts cities and towns filed suit against consulting firm McKinsey & Company in federal court for marketing ideas sold to Purdue Pharma, L.P., relating to OxyContin.
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Though McKinsey has settled numerous cases in states across the country, including Massachusetts, the new suit was filed on behalf of individual cities and towns in the bay state. Attorney Peter Merrigan, of Sweeney Merrigan Law, represents the plaintiffs and said that money is needed to address the opioid epidemic at the local level.
"They facilitated the misleading of opioids and the dangers posed by them, and they were a instrumental part of a significant expansion in opioid sales," Merrigan said. Merrigan went on to say that the opioid crisis is a "backyard problem," or an epidemic that comes with unique hurdles and challenges for each city and town.
"I think the real merit and the real outcome that we're seeking is going to be money to abate this crisis, to turn this around and to prevent future human cost," Merrigan said.
A spokesperson for McKinsey & Company responded in a statement to WBZ NewsRadio.
“We negotiated settlements with all 50 State Attorneys General in order to be part of the solution to the opioid epidemic and believe that those settlements also resolve claims that may be brought by municipalities. The State Attorneys General are the chief law enforcement officers for their states and are in charge of managing investigations and settlements such as these. Furthermore, the funds provided by these settlements will be used by the state governments to support communities throughout those states," a spokesperson for McKinsey & Company said.
WBZ's Carl Stevens (@carlwbz) reports.
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