Encinitas City Council adjourns to closed session to discuss four litigation matters, including opioid cases

The Encinitas City Council on an unspecific date adjourned to closed session to discuss four litigation matters, city staff announced. The items include potential exposure to litigation and three existing lawsuits, among them Peterson v. City of Encinitas and two cases tied to national opioid litigation naming Purdue Pharma LP and several drug manufacturers.

The council’s closed-session agenda listed four items under California Government Code section 54956.9: one item for "significant exposure to litigation" under subsection (d)(2) with a potential number of cases listed as two, and three items described as conference with legal counsel on existing litigation under section 54956.9(a). The transcript identifies the existing cases as Peterson v. City of Encinitas et al; City of Encinitas et al v. Purdue Pharma LP et al (case numbers cited in the transcript as 19-23649 and CL-1732093); and City of Encinitas et al v. Alvogen, Amneal, Apotex, Hikma, Indivior, Mylan, Sun and Zydus et al (case number cited as CL-1762157).

Council members present at roll call were Council member San Antonio and Council member Schafer. Deputy Mayor Lyons and Mayor Ehlers were recorded as present. Council member O'Hara was not present at the time of roll call and the council said it would note his arrival to the closed session if he arrived. City staff also noted that there were no public speakers for the closed-session portion and that the council would provide a report out at the 6:00 p.m. regular City Council meeting.

The council’s action in the transcript was to adjourn to closed session to consider the listed litigation items. The record includes no motion maker, second, or formal vote tally for the adjournment in the provided transcript excerpt. The transcript does not record any discussion of merits, settlement amounts, or directives to staff; such details, if any, would be disclosed in the public report out at the regular meeting if appropriate under law.

The items cite the specific California Government Code provisions that authorize closed-session discussion of litigation: section 54956.9(d)(2) for significant exposure to litigation and section 54956.9(a) for existing litigation. The transcript lists case names and case numbers as noted above; the council did not state further particulars about the claims or potential financial exposure in the excerpt provided.

The city’s next public session is the 6:00 p.m. regular City Council meeting, at which the city said it would provide any required report out from the closed session.