State of Alabama Reaches Settlements with Two Opioid Manufacturers, One Distributor

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has announced that the state has reached settlements with two pharmaceutical manufacturers and one distributor for about $276 million to resolve the state’s claims against them in the opioid crisis.

Details of the settlements are:

• Endo Pharmaceutical: The State of Alabama and its subdivisions will receive $25 million this year in a lump-sum payment. Due to an agreement between the state and its litigating subdivisions, the state will get $15 million, less attorneys’ fees, and its litigating subdivisions will receive $10 million
• Johnson & Johnson: The State of Alabama and its subdivisions will receive $70.3 million this year in a lump-sum payment. While the state would have received this same amount in the national settlement, it would have been paid out over nine years. The settlement funds will be split 50/50 between the state and its subdivisions.
• McKesson: The State of Alabama and its subdivisions will receive $141 million over nine years. Under the national settlement, the state would have received only $115.8 million, paid out over eighteen years. The settlement funds will be split 50/50 between the state and its subdivisions.

  The settlement funds are to be used to remediate the harms caused by the opioid crisis in Alabama. The state government’s share of each settlement will be deposited into the General Fund. The Alabama Legislature will determine the best uses of this funding.

“These three settlement agreements affirm my decision to decline participation in the national opioid settlements, which did not adequately acknowledge the unique harm that Alabamians have endured and would have redirected millions of dollars to bigger states that experienced a less severe impact,” Attorney General Steve Marshall said.

“I am grateful to each member of the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council who has put in the time and energy to provide our legislators with a roadmap as they make critical decisions about the use of this money. We envisioned and developed a State plan long before there was any funding to make it a reality, and I am pleased that we can finally put our plan to good use.”

In addition to the funding for remediation, the state recovered approximately $40 million in attorneys’ fees and costs.

The State has remaining claims against opioid manufacturers Purdue Pharma, Mallinckrodt and Insys in each of their respective bankruptcy cases.

— Information from the Attorney General’s Office