Two of the three Washington County Commissioners heard from a local attorney about the benefits of the county entering into a multi-district litigation against manufacturers and suppliers of opioid pharmaceuticals at their weekly meeting Thursday.

Ethan Vessels, with Fields, Dehmlow & Vessels, gave a presentation for consideration to commissioners David White and Rick Walters. Ron Feathers was present for the regular business meeting but had to leave to attend another meeting.

“I am a plaintiff’s lawyer and I have represented the county before,” Vessels began. “Six or seven years ago I was hired to represent the Washington County Board of Developmental Disabilities. They were the victim of a scam and I was hired to go get the money. Ultimately the company went bankrupt, the founder went to prison and we never recovered the money. I didn’t get paid but honestly it’s the risk/reward that lawyers like myself take.”

Vessels said that he was also heavily involved in the C8 case locally.

White said he continues to have misgivings about a class action lawsuit related to how much the counties would actually recoup and how it would be distributed, and expressed concern over how much the hundreds of attorneys involved in the litigation would be paid.

“It’s not an objection to the fact that they’re (attorneys) getting money as much as it’s an objection that, by comparison, the amount the county would end up getting and what stipulations would be added to it about how we can use it, would be fairly negligible,” White said.

The contract presented showed that as a representative of the county, Vessels would charge 25 percent of the gross recovery plus expenses. If the attorney is unable to recover money for the county, no fee would be owed.

“In the end, if we win this lawsuit, the county will be entitled to settlement funds; but even if it all fails, the county will be out nothing,” Vessels said.

The total projected cost of the opioid epidemic nationwide is $1 trillion, with an additional projected cost of $500 billion between 2016 and 2020, according to information provided by Vessels.

White also said the process of finding documentation about how the opioid epidemic has impacted the county — which Vessels said has suffered the second highest “damage score” (cost to combat the epidemic in the form of tax increases, burden on law enforcement and courts, health care costs, etc.) in the state — would be an intrusion of privacy.

“Looking into records, both on the prosecution and defense side, will be a burden to our people and an intrusion,” White said.

Vessels is the only local attorney to approach the commissioners about joining the lawsuit; previously they were approached by Dale Seif, an attorney from Chillicothe.

“I feel it is something that we are probably going to end up doing,” White said. “I would definitely prefer that it be handled by someone local.”

There are currently more than 200 plaintiffs involved in the litigation and six law firms. The named manufacturers are Purdue Pharma, Cephalon, Teva, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen, Endo Health Solutions and Allergan. The named distributors are McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen. The lawsuit claims these entities are being sued for Public Nuisance, Civil Conspiracy, Ohio Corrupt Practices Act, Deceptive Trade Practices, Negligence and Negligent & Fraudulent Misrepresentation.

Vessels said he would like to be able to enter into the lawsuit by June.

“Even if you don’t go with me, as a citizen of this county, I would like to see you join this lawsuit,” Vessels said.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, Michelle Hyer with Buckeye Hills Regional Council presented quotes for Community Block Development Grant (CDBG) projects in Wesley Township and for the Little Muskingum Volunteer Fire Department.

Crescent/McConnell Supply presented a quote for $11,101.68 for corrugated pipe as part of culvert replacements in Wesley Township. Shelly & Sands submitted a quote for both corrugated pipe and limestone, coming in at $22,940. The county would provide the supplies but the townships would provide the labor, not covered under CDBG.

For the fire department, Miller Communications proposed $4,457 to provide 12 pagers and spare batteries. Finley Fire Equipment proposed $4,451 for the pagers and $7,906 for hoses, nozzles, a fire pump and jumpsuits. The deadline for quotes was 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Hyer said all were within the scope for the CDBG projects so they will move ahead.

Dates to remember

¯ National Day of Prayer, May 3 at noon, courthouse steps.

¯ Annual engineer/township trustees meeting, May 3 at 6:30 p.m.

¯ Monthly meeting at County Home, May 15 at 8:30 a.m.

¯ Finance committee, May 15 at 10 a.m.

¯ Planning Commission, May 21 at 7 p.m.

¯ RSVP Appreciation Cruise on Valley Gem, May 22 at 1 p.m.