King and Queen County Board votes to join proposed opioid settlements
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Summary
The Board unanimously approved joining proposed settlements with opioid manufacturers and retailers and authorized county counsel to execute required documents to recover funds to address opioid-related harms.
The King and Queen County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 13 to participate in proposed nationwide settlements with opioid manufacturers and retailers, directing the county attorney and outside counsel to execute documents required for the county’s participation.
The resolution states King and Queen County has spent taxpayer dollars addressing harms from the opioid epidemic and seeks recovery of funds to abate those harms. It lists proposed settling defendants including Teva, Allergan, Walmart, Walgreens and CVS and affirms that those settlements will be administered under the Virginia Opioid Abatement Fund and Settlement Allocation Memorandum of Understanding, consistent with previously negotiated distributor and Janssen settlements.
According to the resolution text presented to the Board, outside opioid litigation counsel recommended participation so the county could recover its share of settlement funds; the county attorney reviewed the information and concurred. The Board voted unanimously in favor; one supervisor, S.C. Alsop, was absent.
Why it matters: Local governments nationwide have joined multibillion-dollar settlement programs intended to direct funds to public-health and abatement activities. County officials said the money would help offset local spending on emergency medical services, law enforcement, mental-health and substance-use supports.
What’s next: The resolution directs the county attorney and outside counsel to sign the agreements and execute required releases of claims against settling entities. The resolution does not specify an expected dollar amount for King and Queen County’s share; distribution and timing will follow the Virginia MOU and the settlement administrators’ schedules.