Henderson County votes to join national opioid settlement with smaller manufacturers

Henderson County's Commissioner's Court voted unanimously to accept and participate in a proposed combined national opioid settlement that groups several lower-tier defendants and to authorize the county judge to sign the combined subdivision participation and release form. County legal staff explained the settlement groups together defendants that had smaller exposure in the nationwide litigation and that the combined settlement is roughly $720,000,000 nationwide. Outside counsel and county attorneys recommended participation; no estimate of Henderson County's share was provided and staff said the county's portion would be a very small amount. "This is one of those settlements that ... we are down to the, what we would say, the lower tier or lower level of defendants in the opioid litigation," County legal counsel said, noting the combined package is "about a $720,000,000 settlement. And, again, that's not for Henderson County." The counsel added settlements are typically structured as payments over time and that some defendants have gone into bankruptcy, which complicates distributions. Court members asked whether earlier rounds had included retail pharmacy defendants; legal staff said those had been settled in prior rounds. Court members were also told that any jurisdiction that opts out of a settlement could continue to sue the defendants directly, but the county attorney's office and outside counsel recommended joining the nationwide resolution to reduce litigation costs. On a motion made by Commissioner Tully and seconded by Commissioner Richardson, the court approved participation and authorized the judge to sign the required documents; the motion passed unanimously.