Peter Prieto, with Podhurst Orseck. Photo: J. Albert Diaz

Miami-Dade County signed a retainer agreement with seven law firms led by Miami's Podhurst Orseck to file litigation against Big Pharma over the opioid epidemic.

The contract was signed Wednesday after the County Commission voted to accept County Attorney Abigail Price-Williams' recommendation of the Podhurst group over nine other prospective legal teams.

The winning team offered the county a structured contingency fee arrangement ranging from 4 percent to 15 percent of the recovery, increasing as the litigation advances.

The other firms on the chosen team are Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor; Baron & Budd; Greene, Ketchum, Farrell, Bailey & Tweel; McHugh Fuller Law Group; Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler; and Powell & Majestro.

“Miami-Dade County has suffered enormous costs fighting the opioid epidemic, costs that ultimately fall on the backs of our taxpayers,” Podhurst Orseck partner Peter Prieto, lead counsel for the county, said in a statement. “Our job now will be to investigate and bring claims against the drug manufacturers and distributors while working with the county to assess the amount of damages it has incurred.”

The county will likely file litigation in federal court to join the opioid multidistrict litigation consolidated in Ohio, a Podhurst spokesman said.

The runner-up for the county contract was a team consisting of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. Those firms are part of the team representing Broward County and the city of Fort Lauderdale in opioid litigation.

Both of the final two teams had impressive experience, local ties and leadership positions in the Ohio MDL, Price-Williams wrote in a memo to the County Commission. The firms selected are involved in more than 200 government lawsuits against drug manufacturers and distributors.

Team member Paul Farrell of West Virginia's Greene Ketchum is one of three lead attorneys for the plaintiffs in the MDL. Baron & Budd's Roland Tellis, McHugh Fuller's Michael Fuller and Levin Papantonio's Peter Mougey are on the plaintiffs executive committee. Troy Rafferty of Levin Papantanio is liaison counsel coordinating attorneys in the MDL.

The heavyweight legal team has “taken on and defeated Big Tobacco, asbestos, BP and DuPont as well as numerous pharmaceutical and medical device giants,” the group wrote in its proposal. Prieto is also lead plaintiffs counsel in the Takata air bag litigation.

The 10 teams offered contingency fee rates ranging from 18 percent to 33 percent of the total recovery, according to Price-Williams' memo. The Podhurst team and the Robbins team were both at the low end.

The Podhurst team agreed to reduce its rate and cap the combined fees and costs at 5 percent to 25 percent of the total recovery.

Three of the firms — Greene Ketchum, Hill Peterson and Powell & Majestro — are based in West Virginia; Levin Papantonio is based in Pensacola; Baron & Budd in Dallas; and McHugh Fuller in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The potential defendants will be the same players facing claims in the MDL, including Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Johnson & Johnson, McKesmson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Corp., according to the county.

“The defendants have privatized all the profits from the opioid epideic while pushing the costs on the county,” Mougey said in a statement. “This lawsuit will hold the defendants accountable for the continuing and mounting costs shouldered by the county.”