July 21, 2021
Carson
City, NV
– Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced his support for
states that are considering settling with opioid distributors and an opioid
manufacturer, but he stopped short of joining the proposed settlement, pending
further examination and consideration of the terms of the settlement to
ascertain whether they best serve the interests of the State of Nevada.
Nevada
continues to be one of the hardest-hit states by the opioid pandemic, and Nevadans
have been needlessly dying for years at the hands of the defendants responsible
for the opioid crisis. The defendants’ misconduct has imposed an enormous
burden on state and local resources to remedy the opioid crisis and address the
resulting death, injury and addiction of thousands of Nevadans.
“As
Nevada’s Attorney General, it is my job to look out for Nevada families, and I
will not agree to a settlement until I am convinced its terms achieve justice
for our state and the countless Nevada families harmed by the opioid epidemic,”
said AG Ford. “Accordingly, while I support our sister states in their
efforts to resolve their litigation with Johnson & Johnson and the distributors,
my team and I will continue analyzing the terms of this settlement with the
interests of Nevadans in mind. Any settlement must adequately address Nevada’s
unique harms. Indeed, the defendants owe the State of Nevada and its local
governments an amount that will help Nevada remediate the impact of the opioid
epidemic and stop the continued loss of lives.”
In
this regard, and to promote resolution of pending opioid litigation, AG Ford
has been working with Nevada counties and litigating cities to develop a
statewide agreement for the
allocation of opioid recoveries. This agreement provides a mechanism for
distributions from the Purdue bankruptcy and other opioid-related settlements to
be equitably allocated among Nevada and its local governments based upon their
specific harms.
Pending
this Office’s analysis of the settlement agreement, Nevada and its local
governments will continue their individual lawsuits to bring these defendants
to justice. The statewide agreement mentioned above, however, will empower Nevada
to continue discussions with defendants who want to do the right thing and
settle with Nevada, its counties and litigating cities and to begin the much-needed
process of redressing the impact of the opioid epidemic across the entire
state.
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