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Mooresville council votes to participate in new Purdue Pharma settlement
Summary
The Mooresville Town Council voted to participate in a proposed national settlement of Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy, described at the meeting as a $7.4 billion settlement that would also draw in the Sackler family. The council discussed how payments are distributed and past local settlements.
The Mooresville Town Council voted Aug. 19 to participate in the proposed national settlement arising from the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, described at the meeting as a $7.4 billion settlement that would include payments by members of the Sackler family.
Council members reviewed the history: the town previously approved participation in an earlier bankruptcy settlement of about $4.5 billion, which was ultimately rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, the council was told. The new proposed figure discussed at the meeting was $7.4 billion, an increase the council noted would not necessarily be paid in full to any single locality but distributed through state and other channels.
Town staff explained that some settlements and judgments are distributed through state allocations, and that separate, more-local settlements have produced direct payments to Mooresville in the past. The council cited a prior local settlement involving a retailer (identified during the meeting as Meijer) that was said to result in a $303,150,000 payment tied to local impact; the meeting record also noted that national settlements are often paid out over many years and that payments may be restricted or unrestricted depending on the settlement terms. The town said the pending national Purdue settlement would be distributed through the state.
The motion to participate in the proposed settlement was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. Council members did not record a numerical roll call for the vote in the transcript; the chair announced the motion as adopted.
What this does and does not do: By voting to participate, the council authorizes the town to be included in the distribution mechanism for any settlement sums tied to the national Purdue agreement. The vote does not itself specify an expected payment amount to Mooresville, nor did council staff provide a detailed allocation to the town during the Aug. 19 meeting.
Questions raised at the meeting included how smaller individual payouts are handled (the council referenced receiving small notices or checks previously) and the timing of distributions. Staff confirmed some payments arrive over a multi-year schedule (the meeting referenced a 15-year payout schedule as an example). No objections were recorded when the council voted to participate.
