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Adams County board ratifies counsel authority to add defendants in opioid litigation
Summary
The board adopted a resolution confirming county counsel’s authority to add defendants to ongoing opioid litigation, including an MDL. One supervisor called for broader local public-health responses to addiction beyond legal action.
Adams County supervisors adopted a resolution authorizing the county’s counsel to add additional defendants to opioid litigation, including cases consolidated in a multidistrict litigation (MDL 2804), and to participate as the county’s counsel deems appropriate.
Resolution 15, introduced and recommended by the Admin and Finance Committee, was moved by Supervisor Edwards and seconded by Supervisor Poehler. The resolution confirms and ratifies counsel’s authority to add defendants — including new pharmacies and other parties — in the county’s opioid litigation strategy. The board adopted the measure with 18 votes in favor, one “no” (Supervisor Posdolski), and one abstention (Dozell).
Supervisor Posdolski argued the resolution was narrow and focused only on retaining legal counsel; he said more county-level action might be appropriate within Health and Human Services or the sheriff’s department to support treatment and response to addiction. The chair noted those broader service and programmatic questions would be handled in other forums and that the resolution itself was limited to legal representation.
The resolution’s passage gives Adams County counsel a confirmed authorization to expand the county’s participation in litigation to include additional defendants as counsel identifies them. The resolution does not appropriate settlement funds or commit the county to any specific use of recovered funds; those decisions would be subject to separate board actions.
