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Hardin County authorizes county attorney to opt in to Purdue Pharma/Sackler settlement, board cautions no guarantee of recovery
Summary
The board authorized the county attorney to execute documents to opt into the Purdue Pharma/Sackler class-action settlement while speakers warned there is no guarantee of funds and any payout (if any) could take years to arrive.
The Hardin County Board of Supervisors authorized the county attorney to execute documents allowing Hardin County to opt in to the Purdue Pharma/Sackler family class-action settlement. The motion was moved by Speaker 4, seconded by Speaker 1 and carried without extended debate.
Speakers repeatedly cautioned that opting in does not guarantee a recovery. Speaker 7 said the settlement could generate a distribution "in the neighborhood of a billion or more dollars" to governments across the country, but acknowledged that the county has "till the end of the month" to opt in and "there's no way to estimate what this could be" and any distributions would likely arrive over several years and as part of other opioid settlement flows.
A citizen commenter suggested that any funds ultimately received should be used for medical services and supplies, ambulance stocking or other local EMS needs. Board members noted the decision is a low-cost step to preserve the county’s eligibility for potential funds and emphasized there is no certainty of payment or timing.
