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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 3 March 2020

West Virginia plan: Companies pay $1.25B to end opioid suits

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE How to handle payments opioid settlement with com-
and GEOFF MULVIHILL for lawyers has been a fac- panies from all parts of the
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) tor in a split among states drug industry. West Virginia
— Communities in West over whether to enter a has the country's highest
Virginia say they would national settlement over fatal opioid overdose rate.
get $1.25 billion from the opioids with three major A spokesman for McKesson
drug industry in a proposed distributors plus the drug issued a statement saying
settlement that would end makers Johnson & Johnson the company is still work-
most of the litigation stem- and Teva. ing toward a global settle-
ming from the opioid crisis "I've solved the attorney ment "that would serve as
in the state. fee problem by handing the best path forward by
The deal would be the first it over to the court," Farrell providing billions of dollars
of its kind, even as drug said Monday. He would not in near-term funding, as
makers, distribution com- comment on details of the well as vast amounts of free
panies and pharmacies talks surrounding the pro- medication to aid in treat-
are considering settling posal. ment and provide relief to In this July 1, 2013 file photo, is the exterior of the Mallinckrodt
about 3,000 lawsuits na- Left out of the potential the communities that need Pharmaceuticals office in St. Louis.
tionwide over what many state deal would be state it now, including West Vir- Associated Press
— including the families of Attorney General Patrick ginia."
those who died of opioid Morrisey's claims against Officials in Ohio have been The timeline for accept- months over claims from
addiction — say was their drug makers. Morrisey working on a plan for how ing the West Virginia plan the city of Huntington and
role in fueling a crisis that would be able to contin- to divide money among should become clearer Cabell County against
has been linked to more ue those lawsuits or reach government entities if they this week. Farrell said the the major distributors. A
than 430,000 deaths in the separate settlements — reach a settlement, either companies would have judge is expected to set a
U.S. since 2000. possibly as part of national as part of a national effort until the start of a federal date for it during a hearing
Paul Farrell, a West Virginia- deals. or separately. trial expected in coming Thursday.q
based lawyer who is one The West Virginia plan also
of the leaders in the law- does not apply to two key
suits nationwide, said gov- drug makers, Purdue Phar-
ernments in his state have ma and Mallinckrodt. Both
agreed to the deal that are attempting to settle
was hammered out by 250 opioid lawsuits they face
lawyers in a Charleston of- through bankruptcy court.
fice building last week. Farrell said West Virginia
Farrell said the companies was seeking its own deal
would have to determine partly because the state
how much each would would be cut out of a
pay and officials in West piece of a national $18
Virginia still have to figure billion settlement that's un-
out how to divide the mon- der consideration with the
ey among the state and three dominant distribution
local governments, hospi- companies, Amerisource-
tals and other entities. A Bergen, Cardinal Health
panel of judges could be and McKesson.
called in to settle the allo- The state has already set-
cation formula if there are tled lawsuits with those
disagreements. companies over the past
Lawyers' fees would not three years for a total of
come out of the $1.25 bil- $63 million. West Virginia
lion. Rather, they would be also settled with a group of
an additional amount set smaller wholesalers in 2016
by the West Virginia Mass for $11 million.
Litigation Panel, which is The West Virginia plan
made up of state judges. would be the first statewide