Laurens County authorizes settlement talks in opioid litigation and authorizes negotiation to buy identified properties

The Laurens County council entered executive session to receive legal advice and returned at 7:33 p.m., reporting no action taken during the closed session.

Immediately after the return, the chair asked for and received a motion to authorize the county attorney to enter a settlement agreement related to the South Carolina opioid litigation concerning Purdue and members of the Sackler family. The motion was seconded and members were asked to raise their hands in favor; the chair reported the motion carried.

The council then considered a motion to authorize the county attorney and/or the public works director, Mister Wilson, to negotiate and enter a contract with the owner(s) of property the transcript identifies as "1 and 3" (the spoken address appears with variant spellings in the record). That motion was seconded and the chair called the vote in favor.

The transcript does not include a roll-call vote tally or the settlement terms; motions were recorded as made, seconded and approved by raised-hands vote. The council also announced the specific executive-session topics beforehand: legal advice on a proposed settlement in the South Carolina opioid litigation and a potential litigation over removal of a shed at 207 Harvest Lane; those topics framed the closed-session discussion but the record indicates no formal action occurred during the executive session itself.

Next steps: authorization allows the county attorney (and, for the property, the public works director) to negotiate; any final settlement or purchase would require further documentation and (if required by law) a future recorded vote and contract approval in open session.