February 22, 2023
Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General
Aaron D. Ford announced that Nevada will join an additional multistate settlement
related to opioid litigation, bringing in additional funding to assist with
opioids abatement in the state. The settlement, agreed to with opioid
manufacturers Allergan Finance, LLC; Allergan Limited; Allergan USA, Inc.; and
Allergan, Inc (collectively “Allergan”), will bring in a total of
$29,796,018.21 to Nevada.
“Settlement recoveries, including these
funds, are a vital component to combatting the opioid epidemic in our state,” said
AG Ford. “The recoveries will fund programs and
services throughout the state to help eradicate this epidemic and help Nevadans
affected by the opioid epidemic.”
The settlement with Allergan
contains remediation of $26,508,913.00 that will be paid over a seven-year
period. The remaining amount of the settlement monies will work as a credit on
attorney’s fees. In its omnibus
lawsuit, the state alleged that Allergan violated the Nevada Deceptive Trade
Practices Act when they failed to properly regulate prescription opioids in
Nevada, as well as other causes of action. The settlement with Allergan also
includes injunctive relief terms in addition to monetary payments.
Last year, the state, along with all Nevada
counties and cities that currently have active litigation against opioid
companies, came to an agreement on the intrastate allocation of funds from
opioid-related recoveries. This One Nevada Agreement on Allocation of Opioid
Recoveries provides a framework for how funds from any Nevada opioid-related settlement
will be fairly and equitably allocated among the state and various local
governmental entities and used to remediate the harms, impact and risks caused
by the opioid epidemic in the state.
In early 2021, the Legislature created the
Fund for a Resilient Nevada, which directs state opioid recoveries to fund
evidence-based programs through the Nevada Department of Health and Human
Services. The law requires the state to create a State Needs Assessment which
identifies the critical needs for attacking the impacts and effects of opioids
throughout the entire state, and a State Plan for prioritizing funding for the
needs identified in said assessment. The law also creates a mechanism for the
state, counties and cities to work together in developing county needs
assessments and county plans that complement the State Needs Assessment and
State Plan, therefore maximizing the use of the money from recoveries.
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