Supervisors authorize county to sign Purdue Direct opioid settlement participation forms

The Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 15 authorized county officials to sign paperwork related to the Purdue Direct opioid litigation settlement and approved a related manufacturer agreement recommended for Muscatine County.

County Attorney Jim Berry said the documents are similar to prior agreements the county approved in the Sandoz matter and that he had reviewed them. Berry said the agreements are standard and that the county needed to sign and submit the forms by September to participate. County staff placed the items on the Sept. 15 agenda to meet the deadline.

The board moved and seconded approval of the subdivision participation and release form for the Purdue Direct settlement and then approved the related manufacturer agreement in a subsequent motion. Both motions were approved by voice vote with supervisors saying “aye.” The transcript records that the motions were carried; no recorded “no” votes or abstentions were recorded in the meeting minutes.

Berry identified the items as settlement agreements and compared them to the Sandoz settlement the board had approved about six weeks earlier. There were no amendments recorded and no public comment on the agenda item.

The county did not discuss the specific dollar amounts or allocation formulas for Muscatine County in the meeting; Berry noted differences among manufacturers mainly related to monetary amounts but described the documents otherwise as standard.

As authorized, the county chair will sign and return the settlement participation and release paperwork required for Purdue Direct, and the county will execute the manufacturer agreement for Muscatine County’s participation in the multi-defendant opioid litigation settlements.