Up To $94M From Opioid Lawsuits Coming To The Hudson Valley: NYAG

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Visiting Westchester on Tuesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she will deliver up to $94 million for the Hudson Valley to combat the opioid epidemic.

The funds come from different settlements her office has negotiated following her March 2019 lawsuit against the various manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid crisis. Up to $1.5 billion in funds is going to counties across the state.

“After more than two decades of having lethal opioids spread across every county of the Hudson Valley, today we are helping this community heal by announcing we will be delivering up to $94 million to invest in opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery,” James said in the announcement. “These funds will help the Hudson Valley turn the tide on the opioid crisis. While no amount of money will ever make up for all the lives lost, these funds will be vital in helping to prevent future deaths.”

The lawsuit James filed in 2019 was, at the time, the nation’s most extensive lawsuit against the various manufacturers and distributors of opioids. These manufacturers and distributors were responsible for heavily marketing opioids to doctors, hospitals, health care systems, and others, which led to the overprescription of the drugs across New York and the rest of the nation over the last two decades. The manufacturers named in Attorney General James’ complaint included Purdue Pharma and its affiliates, as well as members of the Sackler Family (owners of Purdue) and trusts they control; Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its affiliates (including its parent company Johnson & Johnson); Mallinckrodt LLC and its affiliates; Endo Health Solutions and its affiliates; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and its affiliates; and Allergan Finance, LLC and its affiliates. The distributors named in the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc.

"I am proud that many counties, including Orange County, led the fight against the opioid manufacturers and distributors who knowingly allowed people to become addicted to their drugs,” said Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus. “As a result, Big Pharma companies caused much pain for patients, their families, and our communities. These funds will not bring back loved ones lost to the opioid epidemic, but will hopefully assist others in getting treatment that can save their lives.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this year that opioid-related fatalities reached the highest number ever recorded in more than a 12-month span.

Last month, a settlement with Endo was announced that has already delivered $50 million to New York state and Nassau and Suffolk counties to combat the opioid crisis and remove the opioid manufacturer from New York’s ongoing opioid trial.

Also, last month, a settlement that secured more than $4.5 billion — at least $200 million of which will be earmarked for New York — from the Sackler family and foundations that they control, ends the Sacklers’ ability to manufacture opioids ever again, and will shut down Purdue Pharma was announced.

In July, a settlement with McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen that will deliver up to $1 billion to New York state to combat the opioid epidemic was announced.

In June, a settlement that ended Johnson & Johnson’s sale of opioids nationwide and that will deliver $230 million to New York alone was announced. The deals with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen have a global value of approximately $26 billion.

The cases against Mallinckrodt and Rochester Drug Cooperative are now moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The trial against the two remaining defendants — Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and Allergan Finance — is currently underway and continues in state court.

"Westchester County knows far too well the devastating impacts of the opioid epidemic — the lives cut short and the families torn apart,” said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. “Thank you to New York Attorney General Letitia James for her leadership and for helping Westchester County fight back against opioid addiction. Westchester County is set to receive a minimum of $10.6 million and a maximum of $18.8 million under the settlement — this is a significant amount of money that will help countless victims rebuild their lives.”

Pursuant to the new law establishing the opioid settlement fund, all funds collected by the state from opioid settlements or litigation victories will be allocated specifically for abatement efforts in communities devastated by the opioid epidemic and will not go towards the state’s general fund.

Every region in the state will receive millions of dollars for prevention, treatment, and recovery programs to combat the opioid crisis.

The figures listed below represent the minimum and maximum amounts each county can receive from the settlements with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen, and Endo. The more localities across the state that agree to the terms of these different settlements, the more each locality is eligible to receive.

The figures below do not include payments from Purdue Pharma or the Sackler family, as the regional split for those payments are still being finalized. Those funds, as well as any funds from future or ongoing litigation, would be in addition to what is listed below.

Hudson Valley: $51,729,983.90 – $94,455,606.10*

• Dutchess County: $3,682,781.87 – $6,433,863.62
• Orange County: $4,360,832.35 – $7,618,425.84
• Putnam County: $996,022.69 – $1,740,063.46
• Rockland County: $2,590,593.17 – $4,525,797.00
• Sullivan County: $1,587,590.46 – $2,773,539.37
• Ulster County: $2,070,408.78 – $3,617,028.70
• Westchester County: $10,678,857.89 – $18,888,019.80**

* In addition to sum total of counties, a regional share is also being allocated here.
** Not all funds going to the county. Also includes funds going directly to a major city within the county.