CHARLESTON – While a bipartisan group of state attorneys general have announced a tentative $26 billion settlement with four drug companies over their roles in the opioid epidemic, West Virginia will not be a part of the agreement.
Three drug distributors – Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen – would pay $21 billion over 18 years under the settlement, and the companies would admit no wrongdoing. Johnson & Johnson, which previously manufactured and marketed opioids, would pay up to $5 billion over nine years.
But shortly after the tentative settlement with more than 40 states was announced, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey reiterated his opposition to a settlement because he says it shortchanges the state, its counties and its municipalities.
“West Virginia is a resounding no on these agreements and will continue to litigate and negotiate outside the framework of today’s announcement,” Morrisey said. “All of our actions and today’s opposition have positioned the State of West Virginia and local governments to fare very well.
“We have expressly carved the counties and municipalities out and positioned them and our office to maximize a recovery that is based upon the severity of the harm imposed on West Virginians. I will keep fighting to protect West Virginia and will not allow larger states to dictate how we hold defendants accountable for their actions.”
This national settlement is not related to the federal trial in Charleston nearing conclusion in which Huntington and Cabell County sued Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen on similar claims.
Morrisey says the proposed national settlement favors larger states because it would distribute the proceeds based largely on population instead of intensity of the opioid problem. His office has maintained a similar position in negotiations with bankrupt opioid maker Purdue Pharma. He will argue against Purdue’s bankruptcy plan next month in federal bankruptcy court in New York.
Morrisey’s office’s active lawsuits against Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson are among three others against opioid makers, as well as cases filed against four national chain distributors.
Back to the national settlement, the drug distributors were accused of ignoring red flags that billions of opioid pills were being illegally diverted onto the black market, and subsequently into communities. States and local governments sued the companies. The agreement would settle the claims of about 4,000 state and local governments across the country.
None of the money would go to individuals or families. Most of it would be used on opioid treatment and prevention programs.
States will have 30 days to sign on to the settlement, and local governments will have 150 days to agree.
Joe Rice, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the national settlement and a Motley Rice attorney, said a “critical mass of states” will be needed for the settlement to happen.
Morrisey isn’t the only AG to already reject the settlement. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, also says he is ready to fight the companies in court.
“The settlement is, to be blunt, not nearly good enough for Washington,” Ferguson said in a press release. “It stretches woefully insufficient funds into small payments over nearly 20 years, to be shared among more than 300 Washington jurisdictions.
“We are looking forward to walking into a Washington state courtroom to hold these companies accountable for their conduct. Washington families devastated by the opioid epidemic deserve their day in court. We intend to give it to them.”
Last week, Morrisey expressed similar concerns when discussing the proposed Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement.
“I remain vigorously opposed to a proposed allocation formula that would distribute settlement funds largely based on a state or local government’s population – not intensity of the problem,” Morrisey said during a July 13 press conference. “Any such allocation formula fails to recognize the disproportionate harm caused by opioids in our state.
“West Virginia suffered the greatest weight of this epidemic. For the better part of 20 years, West Virginia has been out there, for many years, on its own. We need to solve this problem. That’s critical. That’s most certainly my goal.”