GREENFIELD — After Mayor William Martin issued a veto Monday, the City Council will once again take up an ordinance requesting compensation from CVS Health Corp. for its role in the opioid crisis in Greenfield.
The mayor’s reasoning for vetoing the resolution, which was approved by the council on Oct. 16, was twofold — the city is currently in litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors, including CVS; and the ordinance goes beyond the scope of the City Council’s powers.
“The city became the first municipality in the state to sue to recover community damages from the opioid crisis,” Martin said. “The defendants in this legal action include CVS. … Due to the active ongoing litigation the city has against CVS, the city is bound by Judge Polsner’s confidentiality order and should not be directly communicating with CVS.”
Greenfield’s 2017 lawsuit was filed against not only Purdue Pharma, but other big-name companies like Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
According to the veto, the city communicated with officers of CVS requesting an explanation of “a seemingly high prescriptive practice for opioids from their Greenfield pharmacy.”
The discovery schedule and trial date will be determined in the near future, according to the veto.
Martin also wrote that the council “holds only legislative power.”
“The power to initiate a settlement with CVS for damages due to the opioid crisis is outside these powers,” Martin wrote. “If this is not intended to be a settlement, does this resolution extend beyond the powers of the government? What other private companies will the council demand payment from?”
Precinct 5 City Councilor Timothy Dolan proposed the resolution in August.
The resolution requested “voluntary payment in the amount of $0.50 for each opioid pill dispensed from 2006 to 2012, for a total of $2,664,965, with half of that sum payable to the city of Greenfield and half payable to the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.”
The resolution was approved at its Oct. 16 meeting by a simple majority of seven councilors; three were opposed and two abstained.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the City Council will vote to uphold or override the mayor’s veto. To override the veto, the City Council needs a two-thirds vote or the approval of nine councilors.
Reach Melina Bourdeau at
mbourdeau@recorder.com or
413-772-0261, ext. 263.