Opioid firm asks judge to toss suit

SEATTLE -- The maker of the pain medication OxyContin has asked a federal judge in Seattle to throw out a Washington city's lawsuit that seeks to hold the drugmaker responsible for allowing its pills to flood the black market.

Purdue Pharma argued in court documents filed Monday that there is no basis in law for a municipality to bring such an action against a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Everett, a city of about 108,000 north of Seattle, sued the Connecticut-based company in January seeking to hold it accountable for the social and economic damages to the community because of illegal trafficking of the powerful opioid painkillers. The city alleged that Purdue knowingly allowed pills to be funneled into the black market and into the city and did nothing to stop it.

The city's lawsuit accuses Purdue of gross negligence and nuisance.

Purdue is asking U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez in Seattle to dismiss all claims. A spokesman for Everett did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Business on 03/22/2017

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