JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A group of attorneys came before the Stutsman County Commission Tuesday to inform the county of an opportunity to join ongoing Opioid Litigation with several others across the nation.

The commission heard a presentation from different representatives of several law firms including Motley Rice, Ferrer Poirot Wansbrough, Fears Nachawati and McNamee Hosea.

Former state senator Curtis Olafson introduced the attorney’s to the commission.

Jonathan Novak, an Associate Attorney at Fears Nachawati Law Firm in Texas, told the commission that he formerly worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) prosecuting doctors, pharmacies, and producers of opioids. He told the commission that the number of opioids available in Stutsman County is staggering.

Novak told the commission that the consortium of law firms working on the case were building a case for cities and counties in the nation that would then benefit from any money in court settlements. He said there was no cost to join the litigation.

If Stutsman County joins, they would join counties such as Ramsey, Burleigh, Grand Forks, Benson, and more.

Novak pointed out that if Stutsman County joined the litigation, they’ll be able to use any settlement funding to alleviate costs that could be associated with opioid addiction and abuse.

The commission made no motion and will discuss at their later December meeting.