Most U.S. local governments opt to join $26 billion opioid settlement
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[January 27, 2022]
By Nate Raymond
(Reuters) - U.S. cities and counties have
embraced a proposed settlement worth up to $26 billion resolving
lawsuits alleging three large drug distributors and drugmaker Johnson &
Johnson fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic, lawyers behind the deal said on
Wednesday, increasing the odds that it will move forward.
About 90% of local governments nationwide that were eligible to
participate in the settlement with McKesson Corp, AmerisourceBergen
Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and J&J had opted to do so by a Wednesday
deadline, said Peter Mougey, a plaintiffs' lawyer involved in the
negotiations.
Those municipalities and counties are located in 45 states and several
territories that had earlier agreed to settle with the three largest
U.S. drug distributors after the proposed settlement was announced in
July.
Forty-four states will settle with J&J. New Hampshire settled with the
distributors but is still suing J&J for billions of dollars. It is one
of five states that declined to settle with all or some of the
companies.
"To get 6,000 cities and counties to agree on anything at the 90% level
in 90 days is unprecedented," Mougey said. "It demonstrates the strength
and power of this settlement."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
In California, over 400 cities and counties, or 97%, joined, putting the
most populous state a step closer to receiving more than $2 billion from
the settlement and "closing this dark chapter," California Attorney
General Rob Bonta said.
J&J in a statement said it is evaluating the level of participation by
eligible local governments. The distributors did not respond to requests
for comment.
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![](../images/012722pics/news_e9.jpg)
The Johnson & Johnson logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of
the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 29, 2019.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/graue_preowned_012422.png) The deal aims to resolve thousands
of lawsuits by state and local governments and future cases they
could bring seeking to hold the companies responsible for an opioid
abuse crisis that has led to hundreds of thousands of overdose
deaths.
The distributors agreed to pay up to $21 billion, while J&J agreed
to pay up to $5 billion. The money is largely intended to fund
treatment and other programs to address the health crisis.
How much the companies ultimately pay depends on state and local
government participation. About $10.7 billion was tied to local
government participation.
The companies have until Feb. 25 to decide whether to proceed with
the deal.
Mougey, a partner at the law firm Levin Papantonio, said that by
mid-Wednesday, 3,010 local governments pursuing lawsuits against the
distributors agreed to settle, along with 3,405 with populations of
over 10,000 that had not filed a lawsuit.
He said 3,038 local governments that sued J&J have joined the deal
along with 3,324 non-litigating ones.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi
and Bill Berkrot)
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