# Purdue Pharma *Opioid manufacturer named as a defendant in a 2018 Dakota County, Minnesota lawsuit over the opioid crisis.* Purdue Pharma is an opioid manufacturer. In this record it appears as a defendant in a 95-page suit filed on August 16, 2018, on behalf of [[Dakota]] County, [[Minnesota]], against Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers under the [[Minnesota False Claims Act]].[^1] The record places that suit beside the same [[county attorney]]'s office's drug charging for 2017. In that year the office charged 902 adult drug cases, and the county recorded 24 opioid and heroin overdose deaths.[^2][^3] The record shows that one office brought a corporate-liability suit and an individual-charging caseload in consecutive years. It does not establish why the office took either course. ## Who - Purdue Pharma is named as a defendant in the Dakota County suit, together with other opioid manufacturers.[^1] - The suit was brought by the Dakota County Attorney's office under County Attorney [[Backstrom]].[^1][^3] ## What - The suit runs to 95 pages and was brought under the Minnesota False Claims Act.[^1] - In bringing the suit, the office said that "the pharmaceutical companies must be held accountable for knowingly or negligently creating the opioid crisis through their irresponsible business practices."[^1][^3] The pack does not include the complaint itself. This statement is the office's description of its claim, not a finding. ## When - The suit was filed on August 16, 2018.[^1] - The overdose and charging figures set beside it are for 2017, the year before the filing.[^2][^3] ## How many The following figures come from the county attorney's office's own data release for 2017:[^2] - Dakota County recorded 24 opioid and heroin overdose deaths.[^2][^3] - The office charged 902 adult drug cases, a 100% increase over the 2008–2016 average of 449. Of those cases, 560 involved methamphetamine.[^2] The project's at-issue row describes the same figure as 902 people charged.[^3] - In the same year, 19 cases were referred to the county's Adult [[Drug court]]. The court has had 79 graduates since it began in 2008.[^2] - The office summarized the caseload as one that "has filled our jail and strained public health resources."[^2] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue row pairs two actions by the same office. The first is the suit against Purdue Pharma and other manufacturers, which assigns responsibility for the opioid crisis to the companies' business practices. The second is the office's 2017 charging of 902 adult drug cases, which assigns responsibility to individual defendants.[^3][^1][^2] The office stated its view of rehabilitation this way: "Before specialty courts, there was no focus at all on rehabilitating the offenders." Its 2017 output was 902 adult drug cases charged and 19 Adult Drug Court referrals.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota wiki validated dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §V (2026-09-02) — records the August 16, 2018 filing of a 95-page suit on behalf of Dakota County against Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers under the Minnesota False Claims Act. It also records the quoted statement. The dossier's underlying news report is not in the pack's allowed URLs. [^2]: Minnesota wiki validated dossier, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* §V (2026-09-02) — table of the Dakota County Attorney's office's 2017 data release. It gives 902 adult drug cases charged, the 2008–2016 average of 449, 560 methamphetamine cases, 24 overdose deaths, 19 Adult Drug Court referrals and 79 graduates since 2008. It also gives the quoted summary and the quoted drug-court statement. The dossier's underlying news reports are not in the pack's allowed URLs. [^3]: Minnesota wiki at-issue record, *AI-Dakota-039* (year 2017) — pairs the 2018 opioid suit and the quoted statement with Dakota County's 24 opioid and heroin overdose deaths in 2017 and the 902 people charged.