County counsel asks Freestone County to sign Purdue, 'gang of 8' opioid settlements; first Purdue payment due Jan. 2026

Blake Beckham, an attorney representing Lionstone and counties including Freestone County, asked the commissioners to approve two opioid settlement agreements — one with Purdue and a second he called the “gang of 8” — and outlined how the settlement money would be distributed.

Beckham said the larger Purdue settlement totals $286,000,000 to be paid over 15 years. He described the allocation required by law as 15% to counties, 15% to the state and 70% to regional funds that counties must apply to. Beckham told the court Freestone County’s direct share from the county bucket would be about $13,000; he said the Region 1 share for the Purdue settlement is roughly $8,000,000. He said the first payment under the Purdue agreement is scheduled for January 2026 and added that the agreements’ court condition requires counties to sign by the end of the month for that schedule to hold.

On the smaller package Beckham called the "gang of 8" — a group of eight defendants ranging from Aldogen through Zydos on the settlement list — he said that package totals about $44,000,000 and is structured over 10 years under the same 15/15/70 allocation. Beckham said the direct county portion for Freestone under that deal would be about $2,000 and that additional funds are allocated into regional accounts. Beckham also said he would return with more detail on the balance of Region 1 funds and distributions at a future meeting.

Beckham noted there are exhibits and documents the court would need to sign and that one exhibit previously marked "C" had been approved earlier. He recommended the court approve the settlements and sign the required documents so the county could access its direct share and position itself for regional grant applications that will be administered from the 70% regional bucket.

A motion was introduced to approve the opioid settlements. The transcript records the motion being made but does not record the name of the mover or seconder, nor a roll-call tally; the final vote tally and official outcome are not specified in the available record.

Beckham told the court that aggressive documentation and applications will be required if Freestone County wants to obtain additional money from the regional fund and that funds will be paid over many years, so the county should plan for multi-year administration. He said he would report back at the next appearance with an update on Region 1’s fund balance and disbursements.

Next steps recorded in the discussion: the judge holds the court documents for signature, counties must sign by the end of the month to preserve the January 2026 first payment timetable, and staff will circulate the settlement paperwork for the county’s review and signature if the court moves forward.