Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2022-Mar-14

The state of Washington would get an additional $113 million from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family over the company and family's role in the opioid crisis across the nation.

Washington's Attorney General Bob Ferguson and eight other attorney generals challenged the bankruptcy plan of the Sacklers family to deal with the opioid suits against Purdue. The challenge has resulted in adding up the total settlement amount from $70 million under the original plan to $183 million. The funds would help the state to overcome and deal with the opioid crisis, which has created havoc and claimed many lives.

In November, Washington delivered oral arguments on a key issue in the U.S. district court in New York City. The hearing resulted in U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon agreeing with Ferguson on rejecting the bankruptcy proposal.

The spokesperson for Washington said that the individual fight of the state against the Sacklers and Purdue has helped the state to get the additional funds to address the opioid epidemic.

Ferguson informed that he had been preparing for the trial against Purdue since the company filed for bankruptcy. He even said that the settlement is subject to the approval of the bankruptcy plan and he will continue to fight the court battle even if the proceedings do not favor.

A group of attorneys has struck a $6 billion deal with the Sackler family, who is the owners of Purdue Pharma LP, over widespread litigation fueling the opioid epidemic.

The attorneys representing eight states and the District of Columbia secured the $4.3 billion in cash settlement after mediation for weeks with the Sackler family.

As per the agreement, the family has agreed to pay at least $5.5 billion in cash. The fund would be used to deal with the opioid crisis in the United States (U.S.), which has claimed nearly 500,000 lives over two decades because of overdose.

The settlement amount could increase as soon as the family sells additional assets. The family exhibited regret over OxyContin being an unexpected part of the opioid crisis. The Saklers even said that they acted lawfully, but the settlement is the best way to resolve the public health crisis.

Purdue has appealed to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain to approve the deal, which will protect the family from civil lawsuits. The spokesperson for Purdue said that the new settlement would provide additional funding that would be helpful to conduct opioid awareness programs to cure the victims and prevent further addiction among the people.

Once the bankruptcy plan comes into effect, Purdue Pharma will emerge as a new company, Knoa Pharma LLC which would be owned by the National Opioid Abatement Trust.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 as it faces thousands of opioid lawsuits against it with allegations that the company used deceptive marketing techniques to promote the sale of its highly addictive pain medicine.

As per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the death rate due to opioid overdose soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3M has urged a U.S. appeals court to bring an end to the lawsuits brought by service members with allegations that the combat earplugs were defective, resulting in hearing loss for the military service members.

3M has already paid $160 million as settlements in combined bellwether trials which includes a $110 million amount for the two U.S. Army veterans.

The company appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the verdict of the first trial loss of 3M, where the company paid $7.1 million to the three veterans last year.

The verdict was the first of the 11 trials from the largest federal multidistrict litigation in U.S. history. There are still more than 280,000 cases pending.

The company even argued that U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in Pensacola, Florida, wrongly rejected the arguments and rewarded the verdicts in favor of the plaintiffs.

All the cases in the bellwether trials have similar allegations that 3M failed to alert the users about the defective design of the earplugs and used deceptive marketing techniques to promote sales.

The company claims that the reversible design of the earplugs provides complete sound blockage when used from one end and selective sound blockage when used reversibly. But, the plaintiffs alleged that the product completely failed to serve the purpose.

Kentucky has reached a settlement of $483 million from the $26 billion national opioid settlement with a drugmaker and three major drug distributors of the U.S.

Current Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that the funds received from the settlement would be crucial for the state to get rid of the epidemic. He even indicated that the funds would start to be issued by April for the span of 18 years.

The state's settlement will be executed under 2021's House Bill 427, which indicates that the settlement amount would be divided into two halves, with one going to the local governments and the other to the state.

The AG explained that the state has fought harder to make sure that the opioid companies pay for their ill-act of deceptive opioid marketing and promoting opioid sale to the consumers, which has resulted in a large-scale opioid epidemic. The crisis has heavily affected the families and communities, disrupting the peace and harmony of the state. The funds will be useful to conduct relevant programs to ensure the addiction cycle ends and the population heals.

As per a state report, Kentucky witnessed an almost 50% surge in fatal drug overdoses as compared to 2020. Opioid abuse was one of the major reasons for the rising death toll apart from the prevalence of fentanyl. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that boosts potency when added to other illicit drugs.

It is the second-largest multistate agreement in U.S. history after the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The agreement will resolve more than 4,000 opioid claims from state and local governments across the country.