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Committee reviews late opioid settlement resolution tied to Purdue Pharma and Sackler families; response due Sept. 30
Summary
The Chautauqua County Human Services Committee heard a late resolution Sept. 17 to authorize and approve settlement actions related to the Purdue Pharma and Sackler-family litigation and voted to proceed; counsel recommended accepting the renegotiated global settlement.
The Chautauqua County Human Services Committee heard a late resolution Sept. 17 authorizing and approving a settlement agreement and related actions tied to the long-running litigation over Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. Nathan Harp, assistant accounting attorney, briefed the committee and recommended acceptance of the negotiated settlement.
Harp said the county received counsel's materials the day before the meeting and that a formal response is due Sept. 30. He described the settlement as the result of renegotiation after a previous agreement was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. "This is the result of a renegotiated settlement, involving the attorneys general of all 50 states," Harp said. He cited a collective settlement figure in news materials of about $7.4 billion and said New York will receive a share that will be allocated among the state and municipalities; the county has not yet received a local-dollar estimate from counsel.
Harp and county attorneys recommended accepting the settlement on counsel's advice. He cautioned that timelines for municipal distributions are uncertain. "I think 1 and a half billion is supposed to be paid within the first year or so" from the Sackler family portion of payments, he said, and added that how quickly counties will receive funds is unclear.
Committee members questioned the short turnaround time for consideration and asked whether similar deadlines had required other municipalities to convene special meetings. Nathan Harp acknowledged the compressed schedule and said he had just started in the office that week. Committee members also made remarks reflecting the human toll of the opioid crisis and the county's role in addressing addiction and its consequences.
The resolution was approved by voice vote; no specific dollar allocation for Chautauqua County was provided at the meeting. Staff said outside counsel and the county attorney recommended acceptance and that the county must return its formal response by Sept. 30.
Ending: Officials said the settlement is complex, involves multiple legal and administrative steps, and that timing for local distributions is uncertain.
