Finance Committee - 9/6/2017 Page 8
Attorney Vogelman
Yes. We filed this suit on behalf of Manchester in the Superior Court in Hillsborough North. Legally they may
decide to remove it to federal court because of something called “diversity of citizenship”. All the defendants
are out of New Hampshire. So they could if they want move it to federal court. We'll know pretty soon
because if they do it — it’s the same lawyers — they'll do it in the Manchester case and then it will just go to
Concord. It will stay in New Hampshire. We filed it in New Hampshire.
Alderman Siegel
So they’re filing lawsuits in different States.
Attorney Vogelman
They filed in Akron, Ohio. They’re going to file one in New York.
Alderman Siegel
They weren't going to make it a class action suit?
Attorney Vogelman
Class actions don’t mean that there’s similarity of the defendants. Class actions generally mean that there are
similarity of the plaintiffs. One of the key elements to get a class action is that there’s similar damage. The
damage to one of the biggest counties in the United States, Nassau County in New York is very different than
the damage to a place like Nashua. It’s plaintiffs that ask for class actions. | know of no provision in the law
that allows a defendant to ask for one. We're hoping though that there is cooperation particularly in New
Hampshire around discovery. lf there’s a deposition of somebody that it doesn’t have to be 10 depositions that
they'll be combined. Right now I’m at about where we are here with Nashua, I’ve already met with Strafford
County and Grafton County. | have to do my last meeting with them before they approve it. | hope to
approach some other of the cities as well. There will be a bunch of folks in New Hampshire and we'll just work
together to cut down on the expenses to do the depositions and whatever. Just so you kind of know, the
expenses in a case like this because it’s so heavy on experts will be probably between $1 million and $1.5
million and we will front of all it. If we lose, you could just say good try and we’re not going to ask you for a
penny.
Alderman O’Brien
My question is on the filing. Will we be enjoined in the Manchester suit as well or you'll be filing separately for
the Nashua behalf.
Attorney Vogelman
Well it’s separate because we have to go even though they’re both called “Hillsborough County”, they’re really
different jurisdictions. My guess is is that the judges are going to want to do a lot of this together. They might
not join it, but they'll probably call us in and say I’m ordering you to do the depositions, and the discovery, and
those things, and scheduling together. There’s no procedure for us to take this and go up to Manchester with
it. The court system if they want to do that, they can do that and we'll see. Jurisdictionally, we either file in
federal court or we file in Hillsborough South and we'll see. | like the judges in both Hillsborough South and
Hillsborough North. We think that they’re capable of handling this suit.
Alderman Clemons
A couple of questions. | know pharmaceutical companies but | would assume manufacturers of like all opioid
drugs or is there a particular...
