Napoli Shkolnik Files Motion Alleging McKinsey Destroyed Evidence in New York Opioid Lawsuit

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Napoli Shkolnik has filed a motion for spoliation sanctions, alleging that McKinsey & Company destroyed, concealed, or failed to preserve evidence in the ongoing opioid litigation brought by 44 New York municipalities. Napoli Shkolnik partner Paul J. Napoli is co-lead counsel in the New York Opioid Cost Recovery Litigation.

"McKinsey has spent years trying to make this litigation go away, through settlements, through silence, and, as this motion alleges, through the destruction of the very evidence that could expose what this firm did to contribute to the opioid epidemic," said Paul J. Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik. "When a party destroys evidence it had a legal duty to preserve, the court has the power to hold them accountable, and that is exactly what we are asking it to do here."

The motion follows a recent ruling by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Joseph Pastoressa, who rejected McKinsey's motion to dismiss. With the case now moving toward discovery, the spoliation motion seeks to address what plaintiffs' counsel describes as McKinsey's alleged efforts to deprive the court and the plaintiffs of critical evidence.

The lawsuit, filed in 2021, centers on McKinsey's development and implementation of "Project Turbocharge," the marketing strategy that drove OxyContin sales by targeting high-volume prescribers and suppressing addiction risks. The plaintiff municipalities allege McKinsey's role in the epidemic cost them millions of dollars in policing, emergency services, and healthcare expenditures. On April 9, 2026, McKinsey agreed to pay Purdue Pharma $125 million to settle potential claims stemming from its role advising the company on opioid sales and marketing.

The motion seeks sanctions against McKinsey, including a default judgment of liability or, at minimum, an adverse inference instruction at trial. Plaintiffs' counsel argues that McKinsey's destruction of evidence has permanently deprived the municipalities of critical documents, with McKinsey conceding that 51 of the 105 files deleted from a Purdue folder cannot be recovered or produced.

McKinsey's relationship with evidence destruction is not without precedent. On December 13, 2024, McKinsey entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, admitting to a felony that included knowingly destroying and concealing records with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation. McKinsey acknowledged in that agreement that its consultants recognized their work for Purdue could become the subject of legal proceedings yet destroyed the documents regardless.

Additionally in May 2025, former McKinsey senior partner Martin Elling was sentenced to six months in federal prison after pleading guilty to destroying records related to McKinsey’s work advising opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, during ongoing federal investigations.

About Napoli Shkolnik

Napoli Shkolnik represents municipalities, counties, and individuals across the United States in complex litigation involving opioids, environmental contamination, and other mass torts. The firm has been at the forefront of holding pharmaceutical companies and their enablers accountable for the opioid epidemic's devastating impact on communities. For more information, visit https://www.napolilaw.com/.