Navajo County authorizes participation in revised Purdue/Sackler opioid settlement

Navajo County’s Board of Supervisors voted July 24 to approve participation in a revised Purdue/Purdue Pharma and Sackler-family direct settlement related to multistate opioid litigation.

Legal counsel Mr. Moore briefed the board following an executive session and said the revised plan responds to direction from the U.S. Supreme Court; he asked the board to authorize counsel to approve and sign the 2025 participation package. “The parties in the multistate litigation have been working together to come up with a revised settlement plan,” Moore said, adding that the Sackler family would contribute additional funds under the new structure.

Moore noted the board had reviewed settlement-offer materials in executive session and requested open-session approval to participate in the settlement and to authorize counsel to sign the participation documents. The board approved the motion by voice vote; no detailed financial terms were disclosed in open session because key negotiation details were discussed in executive session.

The motion authorized counsel both to approve the county’s participation in the direct settlement and to sign necessary documents pertaining to the bankruptcy reorganization plan and direct settlement. Staff did not provide the amounts or allocation to Navajo County in the open session discussion and referred questions about specific settlement terms to legal counsel and the documents that were discussed in executive session.