Counties are getting paid in national opioid lawsuit. That’s good news for Manatee
The opioid crisis could soon result in a financial payout to Manatee County, according to the latest update in the ongoing nationwide lawsuit.
County Attorney Mitchell Palmer briefed the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday afternoon on the county’s participation in the Multi-District Litigation against 29 defendants, including drug manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Recent settlements from big names like Purdue Pharma, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, bode well for Manatee’s chances of receiving payment.
“It is much too early to predict the fallout from this development, but it is anticipated that some form of monetary settlement for the aggrieved local governments will result from the reorganization of the company,” Palmer said.
The best indication of a payout comes from aa $260 million settlement reached Oct. 16 with two Ohio counties, Cuyahoga and Summit. The money comes from four defendants: Teva, McKesson, Amerisource and Cardinal Health, according to Palmer.
“This is generally a good sign,” he added.
Judge Dan Polster, who is presiding over the multi-district litigation case, has formed a Negotiation Class that will work to come up with a classwide settlement for each of the 34,000 local governments that have joined the suit.
Government officials must indicate that they want to opt-out of the negotiating class before Nov. 22, which would rule them ineligible to receive any class settlement. In a letter to the board, the Romano Law Group, which is representing Manatee in the case, strongly recommended remaining in the negotiation group.
“We recommend you remain in the negotiating class because we believe this will provide the best opportunity for you to settle your claims against the various opioid manufacturers and distributors and void the burden and expenses of piecemeal ligation,” wrote Eric Romano, a partner at Romano Law Group.
“The negotiating class allocation model provides a fair and objective mechanism for allocating funds to the various counties and cities across the country and also provides for transparency of the entire process such that each local government will know, in advance of voting, the total amount of money that will be allocated to each county,” Romano continued.
Commissioners voted unanimously to follow that advice and remain in the negotiating class. According to the negotiating class’s calculations, Manatee County would be eligible to receive about $1.2 million if the group wins a $1 billion gross settlement.
The lawsuit contends that pharmaceutical companies are on the hook for “deceptive marketing strategies” that exaggerated a patient’s need for opioid medication while downplaying how addictive the drugs can be.
