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South Gate council authorizes defense in two vehicle-collision suits and approves moving forward with opioid settlement participation
Summary
In closed session the City Council authorized the city attorney to defend two recent lawsuits involving city vehicles and authorized the city manager to execute settlement agreements to enroll the city in two opioid manufacturer settlement programs that will flow funds to California and, in small part, to cities.
South Gate’s City Council returned from closed session on Sept. 23 and reported three formal actions: the council authorized the city attorney to defend two recently filed lawsuits involving collisions with city vehicles and authorized the city manager to execute settlement agreements to enroll the city in two multi‑state opioid manufacturer settlements.
City Attorney Salinas told the council that the matters involving Lorena Higuera and Luis Higuera and Teresa Reyes Ramirez and Hector Ernesto Ramos Martinez were new traffic-collision lawsuits against the city that were discussed in closed session. The council voted 4–0 to authorize the city attorney to defend both matters; Councilmember Avalos was excused from closed session and did not participate in the votes.
Salinas also briefed the council on two nationwide opioid settlement efforts that involve manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma and a separate group of secondary opioid manufacturers. He said the bankruptcy court and subsequent appeals have reshaped the settlements and the state of California is receiving the negotiated amounts to be distributed through county oversight mechanisms.
On the settlements, Salinas reported revised statewide totals discussed in closed session and a council action authorizing the city manager to execute any settlement documents necessary for South Gate to participate. He summarized the state totals mentioned in the meeting: approximately $70 million from one settlement and approximately $440 million from another; the city’s local share was described as a very small fraction (Salinas referenced an allocation fraction of roughly 0.00166%). Salinas said the funds received by local governments must be spent on treatment and opioid-related services and cannot be used for general fund purposes.
The council authorized the city manager to execute settlement agreements related to the opioid settlements on a 4–0 vote. The official amounts that any individual city will receive vary by the final allocation method and sign-ups by jurisdictions; Salinas characterized South Gate’s eventual annual share as relatively small and dependent on statewide participation and final allocation calculations.
Ending: The council recorded formal authorization for legal defense of the two collision suits and for the city manager to execute opioid-settlement documents; staff will return as needed with final allocation amounts and program-administration details once the bankruptcy-court and settlement processes are finalized.
