Public Client Group Attorneys

公共客户业务组位于 那不勒斯什科尔尼克 is uniquely positioned to represent state and local governments. Our attorneys are court appointed to numerous multidistrict and other coordinated actions to recover funding through litigation to ensure that government entities can continue to protect and provide for their citizens’ health and safety.

我们的方法

At Napoli Shkolnik, our dedicated Public Client Practice Group has the experience, resources and tenacity to achieve the best possible results. Our approach is simple. If your authority has a problem, our public client practice group looks for a solution that does not further impact taxpayers and/or rate payers.

We have an established track record of success that goes back several decades. Here are a few recent highlights.

Opioid Epidemic

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 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 have begun to flow into our communities. The firm is still in litigation against defendants across the country.

枪支行业诉讼

Napoli Shkolnik 在两起针对枪支行业的独立诉讼中代表布法罗市和罗切斯特市。

这些诉讼是根据 2021 年签署的一项法律提起的，该法律规定枪支行业的参与者助长“通过销售、制造、进口或营销非法枪支危害公众安全或健康”的情况是非法的。 .共同被告包括 Bushmaster Firearms、Vintage Firearms、Smith & Wesson Brands、Beretta USA Corp、Colt's Manufacturing Co. 和 Glock。 Napoli Shkolnik 自豪地代表罗彻斯特市和布法罗市参与这些具有里程碑意义的诉讼，旨在限制枪支在暴力犯罪中的使用，并改善这两个城市的安全和生活质量。

环境诉讼

联邦《清洁水法》允许“任何公民”，包括市、县和直辖市，就环境损害向法庭寻求补救。这种补救通常包括经济补偿、永久禁令和其他救济。

在 Napoli Shkolnik，我们的公共客户实践小组主要关注一些 环境污染问题， 例如：

• PFAS 水污染 ：许多空军基地和私人机场使用掺有全氟辛酸的灭火泡沫。这种危险的化学物质具有高度致癌性。此外，一旦这种化学物质渗入土壤，它就会在那里停留多年，不断污染供水系统。

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

• 围捕：越来越多的证据将草甘膦与癌症联系起来，草甘膦是孟山都公司家用和商用除草剂中的一种关键化学物质。 2017 年，加利福尼亚州率先就草甘膦和 Roundup 的使用和销售发出官方警告。
• 铅中毒：密歇根州弗林特市只是冰山一角。许多公司在公共住房单元中使用不合格的管道材料，特别是在纽约和新泽西。这些居民现在必须应对长期铅中毒对身心造成的严重影响。

我们还关注漏油、水力压裂和任何其他影响特定地区大量纳税人的环境污染。

仿制药反垄断诉讼

Napoli represents dozens of self-insured governmental entities and private companies in the coordinated

litigation known as In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to seek relief due to massive price hikes implemented by pharmaceutical companies on a multitude of generic drugs.

As a member of the Executive Committee for the Self -Funded Payer Track, Napoli is at the forefront and leading the charge for plaintiffs in coordinated civil litigation in the District Court for the District of New Jersey against the three dominant insulin manufacturers and three major pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) for violations of the RICO Act and state laws regarding deceptive acts, false and misleading misrepresentations, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The Defendants’ deliberate actions placed substantial economic burdens on self-funded health plans, impacting both their members and beneficiaries – all the while the manufacturers amassed billions of dollars for themselves and lined their PBM co-conspirators’ pockets through kickback schemes and agreements.

It is widely known that generic drugs were originally created to make healthcare affordable for Americans, as manufacturers would use the identical active pharmaceutical ingredient molecule as brand drugs at lower costs. After Congress enacted the Hatch Waxman Act in 1984, Americans enjoyed decades of low-priced generic drugs under a modern system of regulation, which facilitated and encouraged competition between drug manufacturers. However, these manufacturers began to engage in anticompetitive practices by taking steps to prevent price erosion, avoiding competitive bidding and refraining from engaging in competition upon entering specific generic markets. Competitors collaborated to collectively raise and sustain prices for generic drugs, systematically eliminating competition by conspiring to allocate customers, manipulate bids, and fix prices for specific generic drugs. Defendants participated in an overarching conspiracy to increase prices and reduce competition across the entire spectrum of generic drugs since at least 2010. Even in markets with only one manufacturer, they maintained prices above the competitive level, anticipating cooperative entry by another manufacturer at supra-competitive prices.

What does this mean to local governments? Their group health plans usually rely on less-expensive generic drugs to reduce costs. When these drug prices are artificially high, the counties, cities, and municipalities that sponsor these plans pay the price. If your public employee health plan costs increased due to overpriced generic drugs, it is highly advisable to exercise your legal rights.

Insulin Pricing Litigation

Diabetes continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and insulin is a

medication used by millions to regulate blood sugar levels and manage this terrible disease. Since 2003, countless government entities have purchased insulin and other diabetic medication from the manufacturers through PBMs, unwittingly paying exorbitantly high prices due to the insulin pricing scheme. The Defendants caused higher costs for payors and plan members over the last two decades, raising prices despite decreased manufacturing expenses, and insulin's longstanding history and stable formulation.

Social Media Addiction

Napoli represents multiple school boards in coordinated litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against major social media corporations that own, operate, control, produce, design, maintain, manage, develop, test, label, market, advertise, promote, supply, and distribute the widely popular social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. School boards, government entities and other plaintiffs assert that these platforms are defective, designed to maximize screen time and encourage addictive behavior in adolescents, leading to various emotional and physical harms. School boards and governmental entities are actively pursuing negligence claims, seeking damages for the public nuisance created by the social media companies across the country.

Beyond the personal toll on children, the impact of social media has incurred significant costs for school districts. From hiring additional personnel to address mental health issues, developing resources, and training staff to identify and address problems, schools are bearing the burden of the social media-induced crisis. Costs also include property damage, increased disciplinary services, and the diversion of time and resources from educational activities. The detrimental effects of social media on academic performance over the past decade necessitate a comprehensive evaluation by School Board Financial Committees, Departments, and/or Advisors for potential economic losses. The litigation emphasizes the prioritization of financial growth over the well-being of schoolchildren and young adults in the United States.

In the age of widespread social media usage, nearly all U.S. teenagers aged 13-17, actively participate on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. These platforms, possessing algorithms specifically optimized for user engagement, easily disseminate extreme content and pose potential risks for minors. Crafted with a deliberate aim to attract young users, these platforms take advantage of the psychological vulnerabilities of children and adolescents. This exploitation plays a role in an unprecedented mental health crisis characterized by issues like sleep disturbances, depression, and self-harming behavior. Consequently, these platforms are currently under legal scrutiny due to allegations of consciously designing addictive and harmful products. As these social media platforms accumulated billions of users worldwide, companies harvested extensive personal data, enabling the practice of micro-targeted advertising. This exploitation of user information has fueled a consistent rise in mental health crises among U.S. children since 2010, resulting in severe consequences, including suicide becoming the second leading cause of death for youth by 2018.

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在 Napoli Shkolnik PLLC，我们的公共客户实践小组可以帮助您保护您的员工。今天打电话给我们 免费咨询.我们在全国范围内处理这些事务。