This week, the Washington Attorney General’s Office announced a new $47.5 million settlement with Kroger. Similar to previous settlements, the funds will be split between the state and eligible local governments according to the distribution formula set by the One Washington MOU. This resolution brings the Washington total from the settlements directed to opioid abatement funding to more than $1.29 billion, with multiple ongoing and active cases against other drug companies still pending. As with all of the opioid settlements, the money from this settlement must be spent on the opioid epidemic (see a list of approved uses for that cities can choose from).

Johnson & Johnson Settlement

As a reminder to eligible cities, the deadline for the Johnson & Johnson opioid settlement is May 11. As of this week, 79 cities and counties have returned Participation Forms out of 130 eligible cities and counties.

If all eligible cities and counties join as they did for the prior opioid settlements, they will receive $61.6 million this summer.

Cities that sign on to the settlement can either manually fill out the participation form and return it to ParticipationandDismissals@NationalOpioidOfficialSettlement.comuse or use the pre-populated form on the Settlement Administrator’s password protected website and to return it via that website. More information about the sign on process can be found on the Attorney General’s Johnson & Johnson Opioid Settlement website.

If you have questions about any of the opioid settlements, please contact Jeff Rupert, Division Chief for the AGO’s Complex Litigation Division, at jeffery.rupert@atg.wa.gov and comopioidscases@atg.wa.gov.

Please note that AWC is facilitating the sharing of information about the opioid settlements. The information is for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. Cities should consult their city’s legal counsel with specific questions.

Johnson & Johnson opioid settlement and settlements update

March 4, 2024

Washington local governments will receive up to $61.6 million in June 2024 from the recent Johnson & Johnson (J&J) opioid settlement if all eligible cities and counties participate. The sign-on deadline for this settlement is May 11, 2024, and documents can be found on the Attorney General’s (AG) website. See below for more updates on the J&J settlement.

The settlement administrator will be sending an email with more information to the designated city contact for each eligible city in the near future. To ensure your city receives these and other important communications, be sure your designated contact is up to date.

If you have questions about any of the opioid settlements or need to confirm or update your city’s designated contact for the settlement administrator, please contact Jeff Rupert, Division Chief for the AGO’s Complex Litigation Division, at jeffery.rupert@atg.wa.gov and comopioidscases@atg.wa.gov.

Overview of settlements and eligible spending

When combined with the earlier opioid settlements, Washington local governments will receive $493.87 million before attorney fees, payable over 17 years. This includes:

• Distributor settlement
• Walmart/CVS/Walgreens/Teva/Allergan settlements
• J&J settlement

The six non-J&J opioid settlements are or soon will be distributing settlement funds. Eligible cities can see a projection of future settlement payments on the settlement administrator website, using the city’s official credentials.

Participation in the settlements is outlined in the One Washington MOU. Funds must be used for opioid abatement and can include:

• Improving and expanding treatment for opioid use disorder.
• Supporting individuals in treatment and recovery, including providing comprehensive wrap-around services to individuals with opioid use disorder, including housing, transportation, education, job placement, job training or childcare.
• Addressing the needs of pregnant women and their families, including those with babies with neonatal disorders.
• Preventing opioid misuse, overprescribing, and overdoses through, among other strategies, school-based and youth-focused programs, public education campaigns, increased availability and distribution of naloxone and other drugs that treat overdoses, additional training and enhancements to the prescription drug monitoring program.
• Supporting first responders.

Johnson & Johnson opioid settlement update

Washington local governments will receive up to $61.6 million in June 2024 from the recent Johnson & Johnson opioid settlement. All eligible cities and counties must join to receive the full amount:

• If all join, payment will be made in June 2024.
• If not all eligible cities and counties join, then the payment for this settlement will be reduced by 5% (with the possibility that this 5% will be paid two years later).

The deadline to join the settlement is May 11, 2024. The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has strongly encouraged all eligible Washington cities and counties to join the settlement. The alternative is to pursue litigation. The settlement form and more information can be found on the Attorney General’s website.

AWC hosted a webinar on the J&J settlement with the AGO at the end of February. Review the PowerPoint slides and a recording.

Five settlements with opioid pharmacies and manufacturers update

The total for the Walmart/CVS/Walgreens/Teva/Allergan settlements is $217 million, with payments over varying time periods.

The first payment will be made in mid-March 2024. 97% of the Walmart settlement will be made this year. Future payments for the CVS/Walgreens/Teva/Allergan settlements will be made at varying times.

The Settlement Administrator sent the proposed settlement allocation for the Walmart/Walgreens/CVS/Teva/Allergan initial payments to eligible cities and counties. Cities had until March 1 to submit objections.

More information on the five settlements with opioid pharmacies and manufacturers can be found on the Attorney General’s Opioid Pharmacy & Manufacturer Settlement website. More information and documents regarding these settlements can be found on the national settlement website.

Distributor settlement update

The distributor settlement has made two payments to date (settlement years 1-3). The total is $215 million over 17 years, with possible small changes due to prepayment.

Two of the three distributors elected to prepay their 2027 payment (referred to as the settlement year 7 payment) in 2024. This is an option allowed under the settlement agreement that each company can exercise once every five years. The payment is at a discounted rate as provided for in the settlement.

Washington cities and counties that signed on to this settlement should be receiving this payment (settlement year 7) on March 15, 2024. They also will receive a distributor settlement payment (settlement year 4) on July 15, 2024.

Information on the distributor settlement with McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. can be found on the Attorney General’s Distributors Washington Settlement website.

Other settlements update

Some cities received postcards in late 2023 about the McKinsey class action opioid settlement. Unlike other opioid settlement processes, the state is not involved in this settlement, there was no sign-on process, and cities did not need to take any affirmative action to participate in the settlement. For more information, read AWC’s coverage and visit the settlement website.

The AGO has several pending opioid cases:

• A state case against Rite Aid, Safeway, and Kroger was filed in December 2022. Rite Aid has since filed for bankruptcy.
• Purdue has also filed for bankruptcy and would pay Washington $200 million over 17 years, depending on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. For this case, only the five largest counties in Washington would receive direct payments. For the 34 smaller counties, the state and a panel of local and state government representatives would administer the money.

If you have questions about any of the opioid settlements, please contact Jeff Rupert, Division Chief for the AGO’s Complex Litigation Division, at jeffery.rupert@atg.wa.gov and comopioidscases@atg.wa.gov.

Please note that AWC is facilitating the sharing of information about the opioid settlements. The information is for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. Cities should consult their city’s legal counsel with specific questions.

Attorney General’s Office announces new opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson

January 26, 2024

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced last week that Washington State has entered a settlement agreement with Johnson & Johnson for marketing practices that helped fuel the opioid epidemic in Washington. The abatement amount is $123.34 million in a one-time payment contingent on local government participation.

The settlement agreement splits the $123.34 million between the State and local governments 50/50. If all eligible cities and counties join, the payment would be made in June 2024.

The sign-on deadline for local governments is May 11, 2024. Eligible local governments for all opioid settlements are outlined in the One Washington MOU.

The required local government participation rate is different than past settlements:

• All 37 litigating subdivisions must join for the settlement to become effective.
• If all 88 non-litigating local governments listed in the agreement join, then Washington receives the full 100% this year. If not all join, 95% would be received this year. Washington would receive the remaining 5% two years later so long as none of the non-joining non-litigating local governments file suit in that two-year period.

The state’s suit, filed in 2020, alleged that Johnson & Johnson systematically overstated the effectiveness of its opioid products for treating pain and understated the risk of addiction. The case had been on hold pending a state Supreme Court ruling in a discovery-related matter.

The Washington Attorney General’s Office has recovered more than $1.2 billion for Washington to address the fentanyl and opioid crisis.

More information:

• Cities that are eligible to sign on to the new opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson (as outlined in the One Washington MOU) are invited to join AWC and the Attorney General's Office for a webinar on February 28 to learn more about the settlement and how to sign on before the May 11 deadline. Register now.
• The Settlement Administrator sent the proposed settlement allocation for the Walmart/Walgreens/CVS/Teva/Allergan initial payments to eligible cities and counties. Cities have until March 1 to submit objections. This spreadsheet does not include the recently announced settlement with Johnson & Johnson.
• If you have questions about this or any of the opioid settlements, please contact Jeff Rupert, the Division Chief for the AGO’s Complex Litigation Division, at jeffery.rupert@atg.wa.gov and comopioidscases@atg.wa.gov.
• Information on the five settlements with opioid pharmacies and manufacturers – Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Teva, and Allergan – can be found on the Attorney General’s Opioid Pharmacy & Manufacturer Settlement website. More information and documents regarding these settlements can be found on the national settlement website. The Attorney General’s Office anticipates that the first payment for these five settlements should be made soon.
• More information on the first settlement – with McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. – can be found on the Attorney General’s Distributors Washington Settlement website.
• Some cities received postcards late 2023 about the McKinsey class action opioid settlement. Read AWC’s coverage.
• The State Auditor’s Office (SAO) published this helpful guide on accounting for revenue received from the opioid lawsuits.

Please note that AWC is facilitating the sharing of information about the opioid settlements. The information is for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice. Cities should consult their city’s legal counsel with specific questions.