Two Hudson Valley mayors announced this week that their cities had filed lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma.
Poughkeepsie and Yonkers separately filed suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Poughkeepsie’s suit alleges the drug companies waged a deceptive marketing campaign to intentionally mislead doctors and the public about the dangers of the addictive drugs. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano says that while the city provides grassroots outreach programs to assist those who are addicted, Yonkers also must recoup and seek the remediation of costs spent to care for these individuals. The two cities join other communities across New York, including Albany, Plattsburgh, Schenectady, Troy and Westchester County that have filed similar suits.