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Attorney General James Announces $14.5 Million in
Opioid Settlement Funds Coming to North Country
Published: October 09, 2021
at 01:30 p.m.
By: Press Release from NYS Attorney General (October
08, 2021)
Attorney General James to Deliver Up to
$14.5 Million
to North Country to Combat Opioid Crisis
AG James Continues Statewide ‘HealNY’ Tour to Deliver Money to Cities
and Counties Ravaged by Opioid Epidemic, Stops in Plattsburgh Today
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today
continued her statewide ‘HealNY’ tour of New York
state with a stop in Plattsburgh, where she announced that she will deliver
up to $14.5 million to the North Country to combat the opioid epidemic. The
funds come from different settlements Attorney General James has negotiated
following her March 2019 lawsuit against the
various manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid crisis.
Attorney General James’ tour will make stops in dozens of New York counties
throughout the month of October, with up to $1.5 billion in funds going to
counties across New York state.
“For over two decades, the North Country and every other
region of New York has been devastated by the opioid crisis, but, today, we
are announcing that we will infuse up to $14.5 million into the region and
even more across the rest of the state to help weather the storm created by
the various manufacturers and distributors of opioids,” said Attorney
General James. “These funds will be vital in turning the tide on
the opioid crisis by investing in crucial prevention, treatment, and
recovery programs. While no monetary figure, however high, will ever make
up for all that we have collectively lost to this epidemic, these funds
will be essential in helping to prevent future devastation.”
Attorney General James announces that she
will deliver millions of dollars to Clinton County
and other counties in the North Country to help local
residents recover from the opioid epidemic.
The lawsuit Attorney General 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 over prescription 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.
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.
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.
North Country Total: $8,021,945.15 – $14,561,339.22*
- Clinton
County: $718,499.42 – $1,240,641.97
- Essex
County: $317,373.14 – $548,012.18
- Franklin
County: $395,192.61 – $682,384.04
- Hamilton
County: $26,155.59 – $45,163.19
- Jefferson
County: $1,100,575.59 – $1,900,377.70
- Lewis
County: $216,993.03 – $374,684.59
- Lawrence
County: $1,066,509.31 – $1,841,555.02
* In addition to sum total of
counties, a regional share is also being allocated here.
“The widespread availability and misuse of opioids fueled an
alarming epidemic over the past decade,” said State Senator Dan Stec. “Too many lives have been shattered by
addiction. While a lot has been learned and progress has been made to
help people, much more support is needed for the frontline agencies and the
dedicated and caring men and women who are working so hard to help
struggling individuals and their families overcome
addiction and to build much better lives in the process. This funding
is absolutely critical, and I thank Attorney General James for ensuring it
reaches our communities.”
“Helping those in recovery has been one of my top priorities
and that is why I have continued to support and sponsor legislation that
provide resources for addiction services throughout the North Country,”
said State Assemblymember Billy Jones. “This past legislative
session, I was proud to co-sponsor the bill that requires opioid settlement
funds to be used for addiction-related services, instead of going to the
state general fund. Attorney General Letitia James has been a great leader
while representing New Yorkers in lawsuits against the pharmaceutical
companies responsible for the opioid epidemic, and I want to thank her for
her hard work to get justice for so many who were impacted by this crisis.
North Country residents know the true impacts of addiction and substance
use; this settlement money that the attorney general announced this week is
one more step forward in helping people in our region get the resources
they need.”
“The opioid crisis has had a tragic impact on Clinton County
families, and the
Clinton County District Attorney’s office has and will continue to work
alongside our partners in law enforcement, government, and with treatment
providers across the county to turn the tide of this devastating cycle of
addiction,” said Clinton County District Attorney
Andrew Wylie. “I commend Attorney General James for her outstanding
efforts to hold manufacturers and distributors responsible for their roles
in this crisis and for securing these much-needed funds to begin to heal
our community from this terrible epidemic. The Office of the Clinton County
District Attorney has been and remains committed to seeking justice for
those families. We will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals
who knowingly distribute opioids illegally and continue to assist those
struggling with addiction to get treatment and support they need through
the court system. I look forward to working with our government and
community partners to help ensure that these settlement funds are used
efficiently to help Clinton County recover, prevent,and treat addiction and overdose.”
“The North Country is not immune to the opioid
epidemic. In the last three months alone, our police force has
responded to over 20 overdose calls and have successfully applied
NARCAN to save lives. There are dozens more overdoses that are
never reported or are treated at home due to NARCAN being readily
available,” said Plattsburgh Mayor Christopher Rosenquest. “It's
been proven that this opioid epidemic was fabricated by drug
manufacturers and distributors. What we've seen from Attorney General
James' office in fighting this epidemic is beyond impressive. Thanks
to her efforts, Attorney General James has fought these big businesses and
has secured up to $1.5 billion for New York state communities like ours.
She is an example for our and other state leaders in this fight.”
“The opioid epidemic has stolen countless lives, leaving
behind heartbreak and devastation,” said Plattsburgh Town Supervisor Michael S. Cashman. “No settlement will
ever bring back the lives of our family, friends, and neighbors. This
crisis has touched every part of our state. However,
these funds will bring critical resources for treatment and prevention
services. Here in the Town of Plattsburgh, the recovery community — including Champlain Valley Family Center and MHAB — has been part of the creation of innovative and transformative-care partnership models. The funds will strengthen our
ability to respond as a community. Each of us also has a responsibility to
destigmatize addiction and recovery. My thanks to Attorney General James for her leadership
and her team for their good works in securing these funds.”
“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing attention was being
focused on the opioid epidemic and its devastating impact on individuals,
families, communities, and employers,” said Garry
Douglas, president, North Country Chamber of Commerce. “The opioid
crisis is still with us and, in fact, worse than
ever, and we thank Attorney General James for staying on top of the
challenge with determination and now being able to provide up to $1.5 billion in settlement funds to help support a range of
responses. The MHAB Life Skills Campus is a perfect example of
collaborative response at the community level, and it is great to have her
visit and highlight this initiative and its many partners.”
“Our region is appreciative of the tremendous commitment and
dedication that Attorney General James has made to our friends and
neighbors here in the North Country,” said John C. Bernardi, president and CEO, United Way of the
Adirondack Region. “With her leadership, we will be able to
leverage additional resources toward prevention and treatment efforts, thus
shining a light of hope across our region.”
“Attorney General James heard firsthand from substance use
disorder providers and families in New York state about the pain, the loss
of life, and the devastation the opioid epidemic has caused. She
listened, and took decisive action,” said Connie Wille, CEO,
Champlain Valley Family Center. “Attorney General James held the opioid
manufacturers accountable for their role in creating and sustaining this
epidemic. Of significance, our attorney general has seen to it that the
lawsuit’s negotiated funds will be used to rectify the incalculable damages
synthetic opiates have caused, by not allowing the money to be put into the
general fund. As a provider of substance use disorder services, I am
excited about the positive impact these funds will have on our addiction
service delivery system and, more importantly, the families and individuals
we serve.”
“Addiction has plagued society for years,” said Michael
H Carpenter, founder and president, MHAB Life
Skills Campus. “The Sackler family and other members of Big Pharma
egregiously exploited humankind — veiled in the pursuit of pain management
— to create a tsunami of trauma, isolation, and suffering. These
unlawful activities are blatant and intentional. Our road to recovery
occurs when communities can truly band together, truly align
resources, and change the inertia of suffering to the restoration of
civility and connection. Attorney General Letitia James’ efforts
to hold bad actors accountable and bring home to the ravaged communities resources to invest in that road to recovery
provides us with a renewed sense of hope and justice.”
Separately, but related to her work on opioids, this past
February, Attorney General James co-led a
coalition of nearly every attorney general in the nation in delivering more
than $573 million — more than $32 million of which was earmarked for New
York state — toward opioid treatment and abatement in an agreement and
consent judgment with McKinsey & Company.
In the Office of the New York Attorney General, this matter
was led by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, Senior Advisor and
Special Counsel M. Umair Khan, and former Counsel for Opioids and Impact
Litigation David Nachman. The settlements were also brought about by the
work led by Senior Enforcement Counsel John Oleske
and Assistant Attorney General Monica Hanna, as well as Assistant Attorneys
General Conor Duffy, Carol Hunt, Diane Johnston, Leo O’Toole, Jeremy Pfetsch, Noah Popp, Michael Reisman, Lois Saldana, and
Louis Testa; Project Attorneys Wil Handley, Stephanie Torre, and Eve Woodin; Paralegal Ketty Dautruche; Legal Assistant David Payne; Director of
Research and Analytics Jonathan Werberg; Data
Scientist Gautam Sisodia; Data Analyst Anushua
Choudhury; Information Technology Specialists Hewson Chen and Paige Podolny; and E-Discovery Document Review Specialist
Kristin Petrella.
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