Board approves county participation in opioid settlements, including share of Purdue Pharma settlement
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Summary
Supervisors authorized county attorneys to sign two opioid-settlement documents; staff estimated one distributor settlement would yield roughly $21,500 to the county and the Purdue Pharma settlement would yield about $136,000 payable over 15 years (about $9,000 per year), staff said.
The board voted to authorize county attorneys to sign settlement agreements in two opioid-related cases, staff told supervisors. Staff explained the county previously agreed to participate in class-action litigation against manufacturers and distributors of opioid drugs and that settlements are now being finalized. One settlement — described as involving multiple defendants/distributors — was characterized as relatively small for the national total; staff estimated Mecklenburg County’s portion to be about $21,500. The second settlement discussed was the Purdue Pharma agreement. Staff described Purdue Pharma’s settlement total as $7.4 billion, with $6.9 billion attributed to personal contributions by members of the Sackler family; staff said the county’s share would be about $136,000. Officials cautioned that the Purdue settlement funds would be paid under the settlement terms over 15 years, producing an estimated annual stream of about $9,000. Staff recommended the board approve resolutions authorizing county attorneys to sign off on both settlements; supervisors approved both motions by voice vote. Board members did not detail a plan to spend the settlement funds at the meeting; staff framed the actions as authorizing legal sign-off to secure funds due to the county’s earlier decision to participate in the litigation.