Public Client Group Attorneys

The manufacturers of prescription opioids grossly misrepresented the risks of long-term use of those drugs for persons with chronic pain. The distributors failed to properly monitor suspicious orders of those prescription drugs—all of which contributed to the current opioid epidemic. The pharmacies filled those prescriptions ignoring red flags.

While these defendants made record profits, counties, cities, and municipalities were left with an addicted population to care for. Public authorities are entitled under federal and/or state law to recover these costs due to the defendants' negligence.

To date, national settlements have been reached with Janssen, Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. Funding from these settlements has begun to flow into our communities. The firm is still in litigation against defendants across the country.

Napoli Shkolnik represents the municipal governments of Buffalo and Rochester in two separate lawsuits against the gun industry.

The suits are brought under a law signed in 2021, which makes it illegal for participants in the gun industry to contribute to a condition that “endangers the safety or health of the public through the sale, manufacturing, importing, or marketing of an illegal firearm.”

Co-defendants include Bushmaster Firearms, Vintage Firearms, Smith & Wesson Brands, Beretta USA Corp, Colt’s Manufacturing Co., and Glock. Napoli Shkolnik is proud to represent the cities of Rochester and Buffalo in these landmark lawsuits, aimed at limiting the use of firearms in violent crimes and improving safety and quality of life in both cities.

Second Circuit Clears Path for Gun Violence Victims and New York Communities to Pursue Civil Accountability, reports Napoli Shkolnik

The federal Clean Water Act allows “any citizen,” including cities, counties, and municipalities, to seek redress for environmental damages in court. This redress usually includes financial compensation, permanent injunctions, and other relief.

At Napoli Shkolnik, our public client practice group primarily focuses on a number of environmental contamination issues, such as:

• PFAS Water Contamination: Many Air Force bases and private airports used firefighting foam laced with perfluorooctanoic acid. This dangerous chemical is highly carcinogenic and can remain in the soil for years, continually contaminating the water supply.
• Judge Approves Historic $12.5 Billion 3M Settlement to Clean America’s Water Supplies
• Historic $1.18 Billion Settlement Approved with DuPont to Clean America’s Water Supplies
• Paul Napoli & Co-Leads Secure $750 Million Settlement with Tyco Fire Products LP in AFFF MDL
• Napoli Shkolnik Applauds EPA’s Historic Action on PFAS Regulation in Drinking Water
• Roundup: A growing body of evidence links glyphosate, a key chemical in Monsanto’s residential and commercial weed killer, with cancer.
• Lead Poisoning: Flint, Michigan was just the tip of the iceberg. Many companies used substandard plumbing materials in public housing units, particularly in New York and New Jersey.

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Multiplan has historically used algorithms for out-of-network reimbursements, which has caught the attention of Congress, prompting investigations and potential regulatory action. The company’s revenue is directly tied to its ability to reduce insurers’ costs, as it receives a percentage of the savings it provides to these insurers. Certain insurance companies have also been sued for their participation in the hub-and-spoke conspiracy to fix prices and eliminate market competition.

On the surface, MultiPlan claimed to use data analytics to help insurers optimize the design of their benefit plans. Notwithstanding, in practice, its data models were designed primarily to minimize the amount insurance companies have to pay for out-of-network care - an approach explored further in Pricing Algorithms Help Insurers and Harm Patients, which explains how such opaque pricing tools systematically undercut fair reimbursement and shift costs onto providers and patients alike.

MultiPlan's practices place significant financial strain on providers, particularly concerning out-of-network services where payment rates are often so low that they do not cover operating costs.

Adding another layer of complexity, What the MultiPlan MDL Tells Us About Rebrands During Litigation highlights how companies under scrutiny may attempt strategic rebranding while litigation is ongoing, hoping to distance themselves from harmful past practices without meaningfully changing them. .

We represent a multitude of healthcare providers in their antitrust and price-fixing claims against MultiPlan and insurance companies throughout the United States. As of this moment, the firm represents 73 Direct Action Purchasers (“DAPs”) in In Re: MultiPlan Health Insurance Provider Litigation, MDL 3121, including the American Medical Association, Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS), Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), and a multitude of plastic/general surgery centers, substance use disorder and mental health treatment providers, physical therapy groups, clinics and individual practitioners.

The Insulin Pricing Scheme class action lawsuit brought by consumers in multiple states claims the defendants, all major players in the pharma industry, engineered insulin price increases via an opaque, conspiratorial kickback scheme. This has exponentially increased their profits at the expense of payors.

Partner Hunter J. Shkolnik was appointed to the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee for the Self-Funded Payer Track Insulin Pricing Litigation, which means the firm is at the forefront and leading the charge for plaintiffs in coordinated civil litigation in the District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Napoli Shkolnik represents multiple school boards in coordinated litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against major social media corporations like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. The platforms are accused of being defective, designed to maximize screen time and encourage addictive behavior in adolescents, leading to various emotional and physical harms.

The impact of social media on children has also burdened school districts with significant costs. The litigation highlights how financial growth has been prioritized over the well-being of U.S. students.

In her recent article When Social Platforms Profit and Schools Pay – Why Districts Are Suing Tech Giants Over Youth Mental Health,  Partner Shayna E. Sacks examines how these lawsuits are drawing national attention to the substantial and often overlooked costs that social media imposes on public school systems. The piece analyzes the legal foundations of these claims, the mounting evidence of harm to students, and the measures districts are pursuing to hold technology companies accountable for their role in the growing youth mental health crisis.

Corporations produce over 400 million metric tons of plastic per year, and this amount is expected to triple by 2060. Napoli Shkolnik has filed lawsuits to hold plastic polluters accountable for cleanup expenses, with defendants like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo contributing a large portion of the world's plastic pollution.

State law encompasses the legal rules and regulations established by a state's legislature and interpreted by its courts. These laws regulate various aspects of life within the state, including criminal justice, civil disputes, business practices, and family law, and can differ significantly from one state to another.

We do not charge anything for an initial consultation.

Yes, we do. The majority of our clients opt for contingency fee arrangements, where we charge no legal fees unless we successfully recover monetary damages through a jury verdict, settlement, or other means. If no damages are recovered, the client owes us no attorney fees. The percentage of the damages paid as legal fees is negotiated at the outset and formalized in a written contingency agreement.

Let our extensive experience work for you at no charge.