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Marathon County authorizes participation in Sandoz opioid settlement
Summary
Marathon County’s executive committee authorized corporation counsel to submit a settlement participation form to join the Sandoz opioid settlement, and unanimously approved a follow-up resolution to delegate signature authority for future opioid settlements to corporation counsel.
Marathon County’s executive committee voted unanimously to authorize the county’s corporation counsel to complete the participation form for the Sandoz opioid settlement and to forward a resolution delegating signature authority on future opioid settlement participation to county officials.
The committee authorized corporation counsel to sign the Sandoz participation form so Marathon County can share in funds from the multistate settlement. Corporation counsel told the committee that outside counsel recommends participation and that the county’s share of any distribution would be available for “limited purposes of addressing issues that have arisen in the county due to the opioid epidemic.”
Supervisor Robinson asked about the size of the settlement and what Marathon County’s share might be. Robinson cited a reported total settlement amount of about $99,500,000 and asked whether about 75% would go to local governments. Corporation counsel said he did not have the county’s specific share available at the meeting and would share the calculation when it was available.
In a related action, the committee agreed to ask the county board to adopt a resolution delegating authority to a designated county official to enter settlement participation agreements with opioid defendants. Supervisor Boots moved that corporation counsel be the designated official; the motion was seconded and the committee voted unanimously to forward that recommendation to the county board.
The committee did not set a dollar amount for Marathon County’s expected share during the meeting. Corporation counsel and outside counsel will complete the participation paperwork by the deadline set by the settlement administrator to ensure the county qualifies for distributions.
Votes at a glance: the committee approved (1) authorization for corporation counsel to complete the Sandoz settlement participation form and (2) forwarding a resolution designating corporation counsel to sign future opioid settlement participation forms. Both actions passed unanimously.
