Thirteenth Judicial District DA Dunaway and Others Joins Opioid Lawsuit against Pharma Companies.

14 district attorneys general representing 47 counties now involved in fight against fraudulent marketing, criminal pill mills

Press Release:
CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — The district attorneys general of Tennessee’s Thirteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-Second and Thirty-First Judicial Districts have jointly filed a lawsuit against prescription opioid producer Purdue Pharma L.P. and its related companies, along with Mallinckrodt LLC, Endo Health Solutions, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

Filed Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Cumberland County Circuit Court in Crossville, Tennessee, the lawsuit also includes additional defendants Montclair Health & Wellness LLC (doing business as Special Associates); North Alabama Pain Services, LLC; Mark Murphy, medical director of both pain clinics; David Florence, primary physician at several additional regional pain clinics; and Nathan Paul Haskins, a convicted drug dealer.

According to ProPublica, Murphy was the nation’s top prescriber of oxycodone hydrochloride and OxyContin® to Medicare Part D patients in 2015.

“Tennessee ranks second in the nation for per-capita opioid prescriptions,” says Bryant C. Dunaway, district attorney general for Tennessee’s Thirteenth Judicial District. “Tennessee doctors wrote more than 7.8 million opioid prescriptions in 2015. That’s more prescriptions than Tennessee has residents — men, women, and children combined.

“We have experienced a massive influx of opioids into the 19 counties named in this suit. Millions of pills have been overprescribed and diverted into vulnerable populations, resulting in a robust illegal trade, skyrocketing overdose rates, and a growing financial burden on our police, schools, hospitals, doctors, insurance companies and taxpayers. The defendants named chose to participate in this process for personal gain, and we intend to hold them accountable.”

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants knowingly participated in the illegal opioid market through the following actions:

• The producer defendants directed their opioids to the 19 Tennessee counties of the state’s Thirteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-Second and Thirty-First Judicial Districts, while the criminal defendants participated in the illegal opioid drug market throughout the same judicial districts and surrounding areas;
• The drug producers embarked on a fraudulent campaign to convince physicians that opioids carried a low risk of addiction and were therefore appropriate for non-acute problems such as chronic pain;
• The drug producers’ misrepresentations regarding the addictive nature of opioids, as well as the aggressive marketing of their collective fraudulent message, contributed to a market for illegally prescribed opioids;
• The criminal defendants’ actions of overprescribing opioids generated a significant regional influx of pills, resulting in a robust illegal drug trade;
• The drug producers’ marketing campaign gave rise to a market for street heroin for addicts who can no longer obtain prescription opioids or afford diverted opioids; and
• All defendants were aware of the extraordinary volume of prescriptions being written and took no steps to stop illegal prescriptions or diversions.

Unintentional overdose deaths now account for more early deaths in Tennessee than automobile accidents, suicides or homicides, and the vast majority of the state’s overdose deaths involve opioids — nearly 72 percent, as recorded in 2015. Among the 19 counties named, more than 1 million opioid prescriptions were filled in 2016. The same region recorded 550 opioid-related overdose deaths from 2012 to 2016.

“The defendants named in this complaint have either knowingly participated in the illegal market for opioids by purposely misleading the medical community and general public through fraudulent marketing campaigns, or they have overprescribed or diverted pills, or failed to stop the diversion of pills,” says J. Gerard Stranch, managing partner of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings (BS&J), PLLC, the Nashville-based law firm that filed the lawsuit. “The pill mills and dealers involved have written tens of thousands of opioid prescriptions and funneled millions of pills into our communities. The resulting illegal opioid trade has enriched the defendants at the expense of the citizens of Tennessee while causing immense suffering for those who become addicted.”

The lawsuit demands judgment against the defendants for damages resulting from breaches of statutory and common law, seeks punitive damages against the defendants for their role in flooding Tennessee with illegal opioids, seeks to award restitution to the plaintiffs, and requests an injunction to stop the flood of opioids to the region.

The suit is the third such complaint filed in Tennessee in recent months. The first was filed in June 2017 in Sullivan County Circuit Court in Kingsport, and the second was filed in September 2017 in Campbell County Circuit Court in Jacksboro. Collectively, the three complaints represent 14 district attorneys general and 47 counties in Tennessee.

The filed complaint is available for download at http://tnbabydoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Suit3-Stamped-Complaint.pdf.

Lawsuit pits family campground against neighboring nudist camp.

A lawsuit filed April 3rd in Cumberland County Chancery Court claims that a family campground and a nudist camp are incompatible next door to each other and asks that the nudist camp should be stopped from operating.

The lawsuit, “Luker Family Enterprises, LLC VS Danny Davis as owner of Cherokee Garden of Eden” says that the Luker family own and operate a 30 plus acre resort style family campground that has been open since 2014. While the lawsuit doesn't identify the name of the campground, the address listed in the suit for the plaintiffs is the location of Davy Crockett Campground located on Trails End Rd off of Plateau Road in western Cumberland County.

The Luker family purchased their property from the defendant, Danny Davis and the suit states there was a verbal agreement between the parties that no nudist campground or any other type of campground would be located anywhere on the defendant's adjoining properties. The boundary between the two properties includes a lake that both parties share, open air fence and wooded area. The parties also share an entrance road to the properties.

According to the suit, “campers and minor children are at risk of of being exposed to naked adults” who could be visible across the lake or through the wooded area. In addition, sharing the lake could lead to exposure as well.

“The mere existence of a nudist campground next to the family campground will destroy the plaintiff's business and cause customers and campers to never return,” claims the suit. The suit seeks a temporary restraining order to close the nudist camp and require the owners to remove all internet and all forms of advertising including signage.

The suit, filed by Crossville attorney Will Ridley,  seeks a permanent order prohibiting the opening of a nudist camp on the adjourning property as well as damages, court costs and expenses to be determined by the court.

The nudist camp's Facebook page is no longer accessible though other internet information remains on the web.   

New Crossville city manager Greg Wood expected to start Monday

It has been a bumpy ride for the city of Crossville in the 11 months since Crossville had a professional government manager at the helm of the city.  The last one, city manager David Rutherford was voted out in a special called meeting April 5, 2016 and Woods first day in office will be March 6, 2017.

New Crossville city manager Greg Wood

In addition to a lawsuit filed by the former interim police chief Rod Shoap over his treatment, grievances filed by one city employee against an interim city manager that lead to his dismissal as well as the dismissal of a department secretary and a written reprimand placed against the city's marketing director, a councilman and a city department head both faced criminal charges over alleged actions, and reports of serious employee morale problems in several departments have been discussed by council and the community.

We asked Mr Wood for his thoughts on what he felt his first steps must be as he begins his new responsibilities as city manager.  His comments follow.

Greg Wood statement: Someone wiser than me once said, “you need to figure out where you are, before you can figure out where you are going.” The first thing I need to do is a lot of listening. I need to build relationships and trust. I need to understand the personality of the new Council makeup and what direction they want to take the City. I need to faithfully communicate that vision to the employees and make them feel they are a valuable part of a team with a vision. The bottom line as an individual I will accomplish little without an effective team.

There are some specific areas I would like to pursue, especially in the area of economic development, but again, that is not a solo act, it takes a team and a vision from elected officials from both Crossville and Cumberland County, as well as stakeholders in the private sector. I am not of the mindset that the government holds all the answers, but I also remember that I work directly for the five Council members elected by the citizens. Finally, I will endeavor to instill the employees with the values of stewardship and accountability I feel are a vital part of public service.  

Former interim police chief Rod Shoap files $200,000 lawsuit against Crossville and Jesse Kerley

Former interim police chief Rod Shoap's federal lawsuit names the city of Crossville and Jesse Kerley as defendants in the suit filed last week over employment practices.

The city and Kerley have 21 days to respond to the suit.

The lawsuit claims Shoap suffered age discrimination, breach of contract as well as slander and libel.

Rod Shoap

The suit claims that then councilman Jesse Kerley approached Shoap with a list of improper demands and illegal demands “from the beginning of (Shoap's) employment.” Shoap believed that Kerley could affect his transition from interim chief to permanent police chief. And when Shoap refused to acquiesce to Kerley's demands, he threatened to email Shoap's supervisor, interim city manager Steve Hill, district attorney Bryant Dunaway, various other city council members claiming that Shoap was “insubordinate, ill equipped for the position and committing felonies.”

The lawsuit outlines a list of demands made by Mr. Kerley including investigation of director of schools Donald Andrews, an action out side of Shoap's jurisdiction. The suit states that Kerley made numerous demands for action against councilman Pete Souza alleging assault but “without having sufficient evidence or probable cause.” Kerley contacted DA Dunaway on the matter to have Shoap removed and charged with misconduct.

Jesse Kerley

The suit outlines a number of attempts by Mr. Kerley to have J. R. Blankenship arrested after he spoke at a council meeting and was charged with distributing unsigned fliers. Kerley sought to have Blankenship arrested and jailed several times including alleging his vehicle was not properly registered or insured when it was and seeking to have Blankenship's mother arrested for lying to police.

Shoap reportedly brought these action to interim manager Steve Hill as they arose, including his reasons for not complying with Kerley's demands. It is unknown if Hill ever addressed these issues with Kerley.

Steve Hill

Shoap's lawsuit alleges that he was originally hired by city manager David Rutherford who had offered Shoap the full time chief position shortly before Rutherford was fired by the city council. Shoap believed that the offer of employment would be honored by interim manager Hill but the hire date kept being delayed putting Shoap's employment status “in limbo for approximately six months.”

When Shoap resigned the interim position, he alleges that numerous defamatory statements were made about him alleging that Shoap resigned because he found out he was under investigation. Shoap said that he received a text message from Kerley stating so. In addition, Kerley repeated the same claim to local news media. A follow up story included a quote from interim manager Hill that there was no investigation.

Other claims made by Kerley against Shoap include allegations he had taken an guitar from police evidence for his personal use, allegations Shoap had an extramarital affair and shared that information with local media. The suit outlines allegations of Kerley's harassment of Shoap including references to “old men” and derogatory statements concerning his faith.

Shoap states that due to all of the reasons outlined he was forced to resign his position and even though he has applied for several positions, he remains unemployed. The suit also claims protection under the whistle-blower act of Tennessee relating to Kerley's orders to Shoap to commit alleged illegal acts.

The lawsuit seeks $200,000 in damages, that the city cease and desist in engaging in or facilitating discriminatory practices, that the city shall halt its employees from operating under the color of law and the defendants pay for attorney's fees and expenses as well as cost and fees in the matter.

City attorney Will Ridley is out of town at the time of this story but has been requested to comment on the matter. We also left a message for interim manager Steve Hill.  

Lawsuit over reporting in Nashville ongoing

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2016/05/31/judge-phil-williams-must-answer-some-questions-das-lawsuit/85210392/

Something to watch.