Charlotte County votes to participate in Purdue bankruptcy plan and eight manufacturers’ opioid settlements
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Summary
The Board unanimously directed outside counsel to accept the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan and to execute documents to participate in settlements with eight opioid manufacturers, citing local harms from the opioid epidemic and the Virginia Opioid Abatement Fund framework.
The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved resolutions on Sept. 10 authorizing the county’s participation in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan and in proposed settlements with eight opioid manufacturers.
Vice‑Chair Hazel Bowman Smith moved—and Supervisor Noah Davis seconded—a resolution accepting the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan and approving Charlotte County’s participation in the proposed direct settlement of opioid‑related claims against the Sackler family; the resolution also directed the county’s outside counsel to execute necessary documents, including releases of claims as required by the bankruptcy plan. The resolution text cited the local impacts of the opioid epidemic on emergency medical, law enforcement, criminal justice, and behavioral health services.
In a separate but related resolution the Board approved participation in settlements with Alvogen, Amneal, Apotex, Hikma, Indivior, Mylan, Sun and Zydus and directed the county attorney or outside counsel to execute necessary documents to effectuate participation. The manufacturers’ settlements were described in the minutes as totaling approximately $720 million nationwide; the Purdue/Sackler settlement tied to the bankruptcy plan was described in the minutes as an aggregate $6.5 billion nationwide.
Both resolutions reference the County’s prior adoption of the Virginia Opioid Abatement Fund and Settlement Allocation Memorandum of Understanding (the Virginia MOU) and state that proceeds will be administered under that framework. County records show outside litigation counsel recommended participation in the settlements and the county attorney concurred.
The Board recorded unanimous roll call support for the resolutions. The county’s outside counsel was authorized to execute the documents necessary to accept the plan and implement participation; the resolutions were adopted in the same motion block recorded in the meeting minutes.