Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Monday announced that 55 attorneys general, representing all eligible states and U.S. territories, agreed to sign on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. The Sackler family has also informed the attorneys general of its plan to proceed with the settlement, which would resolve litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers for their role in "creating and worsening the opioid crisis across the country." Now that the state sign-on period has concluded, local governments across the country will be asked to join the settlement contingent on bankruptcy court proceedings.
“No sum of money can ever fix the devastation inflicted by Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family,” said Attorney General Skrmetti. “Our office has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to the Opioid Abatement Council. We will continue our fight to hold accountable those companies responsible for the crisis and work to support Tennessee communities victimized by the opioid epidemic.”
Officials said, under the Sacklers’ ownership, Purdue manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling the largest drug crisis in the nation’s history. The settlement ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States. Communities across the country will directly receive funds over the next 15 years to support addiction treatment, prevention and recovery. This settlement in principle is the nation’s largest settlement to date with individuals responsible for the opioid crisis. Tennessee is expected to receive more than $90 million from this settlement over the next 15 years.
Most of the settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years. The Sacklers will pay $1.5 billion, and Purdue will pay roughly $900 million in the first payment, followed by $500 million after one year, an additional $500 million after two years, and $400 million after three years.
Like prior opioid settlements, the settlement with Purdue and the Sacklers will involve the resolution of legal claims by state and local governments. The local government sign-on and voting solicitation process for this settlement will be contingent on bankruptcy court approval. A hearing is scheduled on that matter in the coming days. Including this new settlement, Tennessee has obtained settlements committing nearly $1.3 billion in funds from companies that helped fuel the opioid epidemic.
Attorney General Skrmetti is joined in securing this settlement in principle by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.