Henderson County accepts Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan, joins nationwide settlement process

HENDERSON COUNTY — Henderson County’s commissioners on Tuesday voted unanimously to accept the proposed bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma and approved execution of a subdivision participation and release form, placing the county into the national settlement process. The move means the county will be part of the group-of-claimants whose eventual share of a $7,400,000,000 settlement will be determined by the bankruptcy trustee, county attorneys told the court. The judge and county officials were authorized to sign the participation and release form. County legal counsel told commissioners that approving the plan is the attorney recommendation and that if the county rejects the plan it would 'be on our own' and not part of the coordinated allocation process. The attorney noted, '$7,400,000,000 sounds like a lot, but you have thousands, if not tens of thousands of claimants,' and distributions will be made according to the trustee's allocation model. Commissioners asked about the litigation history and timing; one commissioner observed the county has been litigating opioid-related claims for several years. County counsel said the payout structure varies by agreement: some settlements guarantee specified amounts paid over time while others are structured as multiyear payments based on each defendant’s ability to pay and local prescription data. No dollar amount specific to Henderson County was provided during the discussion. The court’s action was to accept the proposed plan and authorize execution of the participation and release paperwork with all necessary signatures. Documents and formal filings with the bankruptcy court will reflect the county’s membership in the settlement group and any subsequent distributions determined by the bankruptcy trustee. The court recorded the motion to accept the proposed bankruptcy plan and approve the subdivision participation and release form; the motion passed unanimously.