PORTLAND, Maine (AP)   Maine’s largest city is suing a host of pharmaceutical companies over the toll of the nationwide opioid abuse epidemic locally.

Portland officials filed their lawsuit Thursday afternoon in Cumberland County Superior Court. The city’s seeking damages from drug makers and some doctors involved in distribution of the drugs.

The city says in a statement its lawsuit’s in response to “the substantial impact, including the loss of lives, that the opioid epidemic has had on the Portland community.” The city is being represented by an Auburn law firm as well as Napoli Shkolnik of New York, which is also representing other cities around the country who have brought similar lawsuits.

Officials say there were 57 overdose deaths in the city in 2017. The City Council voted to sue last year.