HARRISBURG – Because the terms of a $26 billion national opioid settlement announced last year have not been finalized, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that litigation brought by the district attorneys of Philadelphia and Allegheny counties against Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was premature.
The settlement, negotiated by attorneys general from states nationwide, would see pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen pay up to $21 billion over an 18-year period, and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson pay up to $5 billion over a nine-year period.
The majority of the settlement money is to be spent on opioid addiction treatment and prevention and accompanying injunctive relief will see corporate safeguards put in place to more stringently regulate opioid production and distribution from the defendants, and ensure the circumstances which led to the opioid crisis are not repeated.
Shapiro stated previously that the settlement would see Pennsylvania receive a total of $1 billion over 18 years. It would resolve the claims of both states and local governments across the country, including thousands which filed lawsuits in federal and state courts.
In fact, Shapiro announced last week that as of the Jan. 26 deadline to sign on, all 67 counties had decided to join the settlement.
However, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. want to continue lawsuits against the aforementioned opioid manufacturers and distributors, on behalf of both the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh – arguing that the toll opioids have exacted upon those communities would not be rectified with the proposed settlement amounts, and therefore, both cities should be exempted from any settlement.
“Allegheny County and Philadelphia deserve deep, sustained compensation in the form of billions of dollars from these companies, which regularly exploit all manner of corporate loopholes while refusing to take any real responsibility for the devastation they have unleashed in communities. Our offices are not alone in the fight for consequential accountability from Big Opioids, either: states including Alabama, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Washington, and West Virginia are also refusing to settle for anything less than what their residents deserve,” Krasner and Zappala said in a recent joint statement.
“More than 100,000 Americans are dying preventable deaths annually from drug overdoses. Just about every block in our counties has been touched by this crisis. An Allegheny County judge should decide how much is owed by these corporate giants. A Philadelphia judge should decide how much is owed to Philadelphia residents, and local service providers and harm reduction specialists should help decide how those dollars are spent to begin repairing the decades of harm done to Kensington and all affected communities. Our oath as prosecutors requires us to pursue justice in these matters until they are resolved by the courts.”
But according to the Commonwealth Court, because the terms of the settlement have not been finalized (which will not take place until Feb. 25), any litigation on the part of Krasner and Zappala was untimely.
“At this juncture in this matter, it is impossible for this Court to declare the respective rights of the parties regarding a settlement agreement that has yet to be executed and that may still be modified, as it has been before. It is also impossible for this Court to enjoin the AG from releasing the DAs’ claims under a release that has yet to be executed, or introduced into the trial court proceedings, that may potentially provide the basis upon which the trial court may dismiss the DAs’ claims,” Commonwealth Court Judge Michael H. Wojcik said.
“As a result, unless and until any finalized settlement agreement and/or release are executed and affect the DAs’ rights in a substantial and concrete manner, any opinion that this Court would issue at this stage of the proceedings would be an impermissible advisory opinion.”
Krasner remains undeterred.
“These attorneys general have basically committed that they will work with Big Opioids against lawsuits to get more money. It is a fundamental sellout of places like Allegheny County and Philadelphia County, where we have an astronomical number people dying of fatal overdoses every single year,” Krasner said.
But according to Shapiro, money distributed through the settlement will go directly towards opioid addiction treatment and prevention in those communities and others.
“Our priority in this case has always been to help the most people as quickly as possible. We succeeded by securing the largest settlement to address this crisis, which will be dedicated to expanding treatment services and combating the epidemic. Misguided attempts to delay the help our communities need will fail. If anyone tries to interfere with the decision each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties made to join the settlement, including the decision by the City of Philadelphia and Allegheny County, we will not hesitate to respond,” Shapiro stated.
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania case 233 M.D. 2021
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com