McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office settles opioid lawsuit
MCHENRY COUNTY – On Jan. 11, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally announced that the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office had negotiated a $3.41 million settlement with several opioid manufacturers and distributors, not including Purdue Pharma, as part of its participation in the ongoing, nationwide opioid litigation.
Kenneally states that the settlement proceeds will be received by McHenry County and “are to be spent on abatement programs designed to combat the opioid crisis and its devastating effects.”
As for Purdue Pharma, that litigation is still pending, according to Kenneally.
For those unfamiliar, Purdue Pharma—the manufacturer of OxyContin—is at the center of the biggest opioid case to date. The company filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 amid 3,000 lawsuits filed against them from 23 states and attorneys representing roughly 2,000 local governments.
Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family, the owners of the pharmaceutical manufacturer, have been accused of promoting aggressive and misleading advertisements of OxyContin while neglecting to disclose any of its highly addictive nature.
“The government alleged that Purdue promoted its opioid drugs to health care providers it knew were prescribing opioids for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary, and that often led to abuse and diversion,” said the United States Department of Justice in an October 2020 statement.
In 2021, Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty as part of a settlement deal that would grant legal protection to the Sackler family and other related parties from any liability or future civil litigations concerning the privately-owned company or OxyContin.
In return, Purdue Pharma agreed to pay over $4 billion in damages which would be directed towards opioid abatement programs. The Sacklers also agreed to forfeit ownership of the company, according to Federal Judge Robert Drain who approved the bankruptcy settlement in White Plains, New York.
However, on Dec. 16 of last year, Federal Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York overturned Drain’s ruling, stating that the Bankruptcy Court lacked the statutory authority to give the Sackler family legal protections, which are not permitted under the bankruptcy code.
Purdue Pharma announced that they would seek to appeal McMahon’s decision in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
On Jan. 7, McMahon stated that she is giving Purdue until Jan. 17 to file the appeal that would give the company another opportunity at maintaining their $4.5 billion opioid litigation settlement.
“No amount of money will ever be sufficient to reconcile the absolute desolation these companies have wrought in McHenry County and throughout the country,” said Kenneally. “This is, however, a first step to holding accountable these loathsome industries that put self-serving deception over medical truth and corporate profit over human life.”
According to the American Bar Association, other large companies—including McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and more—have also faced legal action for marketing opioids in misleading ways, while downplaying the risks and exaggerating the benefits.
