State & Local Government

State and local governments have a fundamental responsibility to provide for the welfare of the public. The ability of governments to serve and protect its residents, however, is threatened by the combination of lower revenues and rising costs. Government budget shortfalls are increasing in part because private companies externalize costs. Corporate profits grow, but often at the expense of the public interest.

When corporations cause public harms and refuse to pay their fair share, governments must undertake enforcement actions that put more pressure on already constrained resources. Many local governments, outmanned and outgunned in the battle to rein in corporate wrongdoing, are turning to support from private law firms.

Milberg’s State & Local Government Practice Group

In our proud tradition of effectuating meaningful change through litigation, Milberg partners with state and local governments, including cities and counties, to address the harms facing its residents.

Our State & Local Government Practice Group attorneys have worked with numerous municipalities to achieve success against some of the world’s largest and most powerful corporations, including drug companies, tobacco companies, mining companies, and oil and gas companies.

As a global practice, Milberg is well-positioned to represent public clients both in the United States and internationally.

Focus Areas of State & Local Government Practice

Opioids & Pharmaceutical Drugs

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), prescription opioid deaths among Americans have consistently increased since 1999. Through multidistrict litigation, thousands of state and local government entities have sought compensation against some of the largest pharmaceutical distributors and manufacturers.

In 2021, in an effort to resolve all opioids litigation brought forth by states and local groups, a national opioid settlement was reached. It is estimated that the responsible parties will pay over $26 billion through 2040.

The opioid crisis has cost the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars. A large percentage of the cost is borne by local governments in the forms of health care, substance abuse treatment, criminal justice, judicial services, lost revenue, and litigation.

Milberg’s State and Local Practice Group attorneys currently represents over 100 local governments across the nation in the National Prescription Opioids Litigation (MDL 2804). Milberg attorneys have also participated in several successful litigations for municipalities and unions seeking reimbursement of costs associated with pharmaceutical wrongful advertising and other abuses.

PFAS

Also known as “forever chemicals,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of manmade chemicals used in thousands of industrial and consumer products since the 1940s.

While the direct health implications may be “difficult to determine” or quantify, scientific studies have proven that PFAS exposure poses numerous health consequences, with greater risk posed to industrial workers, children, and pregnant women.

Given these chemicals do not break down over time, concerns over PFAS contamination – discovered in drinking water supplies, food packaging, cookware, and fire extinguishing foam – have prompted thousands of lawsuits. According to TIME magazine, when PFAS lawsuits are all said and done, they could eclipse the $200+ billion Big Tobacco settlements.

Milberg attorneys have been pursuing PFAS consumer product litigation for years. We are also engaged in Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) PFAS lawsuits on behalf of municipalities, public and private water districts, state attorneys general, and individual personal injury plaintiffs, standing with the communities that have been affected by PFAS contamination.

PCBS

Banned by the EPA in 1979 due to their toxicity, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of synthetic chemicals once widely used in building materials. Tens of thousands of buildings, particularly schools, built or renovated before 1980 are believed to be contaminated with PCB building caulk.

Monsanto – the company primarily responsible for PCB production in America – faces heightened scrutiny and litigation as a result.

Milberg has sued Monsanto for PCB exposure at Vermont schools and is currently investigating PCBs at the North Carolina State University campus.

In addition, Milberg is currently representing the City of East St. Louis, Illinois in an environmental PCB damage action.

Climate Change

The laws acknowledging the relationship between environmental health and public safety are rapidly expanding. In proud partnership with our Environmental Practice Group, Milberg’s State & Local Government attorneys seek to hold global environmental wrongdoers accountable.

Milberg is actively representing 42 Puerto Rico municipalities in litigation against some of the largest, most powerful Big Oil corporations – Exxon, Chevon, Shell – for carbon emissions that caused the 2017 Hurricane Maria, which resulted in over $100 billion in damages for Puerto Rico. This litigation, which charged Big Oil corporations with unfairly forcing Puerto Rico municipalities to incur climate change related damages, has been recognized as “groundbreaking,” garnering Milberg attorney recognition as a result.

Milberg attorneys have also successfully brought resolution to one of the most catastrophic coal ash spills in American history, with a confidential settlement reached in 2023 on behalf of over 220 workers and 100 additional spouses.

Big Tobacco & JUUL

Big Tobacco litigation is a landmark example of private law firms assisting state Attorneys General and local municipalities in the fight to hold corporations accountable for compromising public health. The recoveries from tobacco lawsuits helped to fund anti-smoking campaigns that dramatically reduced tobacco use across the country, particularly among young people.

Milberg currently represents the City of Baltimore, Maryland in unprecedented litigation against Big Tobacco over cigarette filter littler in the city’s streets and waterways.

In recent years, cigarettes have been replaced with the youth vaping epidemic brought on by JUUL Labs, Inc. Milberg is helping communities fight back against this new era of tobacco addiction, raising awareness of the addiction epidemic and soliciting recovery damages for schools, municipalities, states, and government agencies.

Our attorneys are pursuing damages to cover anti-addiction programs, PSA campaigns, and devices installed in schools and other youth facilities to monitor and prevent teenage e-cigarette abuse.

Since the firm’s founding in 1965, Milberg and its affiliates have recovered over $50 billion for our clients. To discuss how Milberg can help municipalities, states, schools, public entities, and government agencies, please contact our State & Local Government Practice Group today.