Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Andrew J. Meyers
Department: County Attorney
Information
Requested Action
title
MOTION TO APPROVE Participation Agreement regarding opioid litigation in substantially the same form as Exhibit 1; and to authorize the County Administrator to execute the Participation Agreement with any required modifications, provided such modifications do not impose any additional, material financial risk on the County, and subject to review and approval as to legal sufficiency by the County Attorney’s Office.
body
Why Action is Necessary
Approval is required by the Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) to resolve the County’s pending claims against Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. (“Purdue Pharma”), and the Sackler family, majority shareholders of Purdue Pharma (collectively, “Defendants”).
What Action Accomplishes
Allows the Board to approve the Participation Agreement which, as part of the global settlement involving Purdue Pharma, would settle and release the County’s opioid claims against Purdue Pharma.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☐County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/Background
On December 12, 2017, the Board authorized the filing of litigation against manufacturers, distributors, and other potential parties in connection with the opioid epidemic. On March 12, 2018, Broward County filed a multicount lawsuit against multiple manufacturers (including Purdue Pharma), distributors, and marketers of opioids.
On September 15, 2019, Purdue Pharma filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In October 2019 Broward County joined an ad hoc unsecured creditor’s committee to negotiate settlement on behalf of government parties that sued Purdue Pharma.
On September 21, 2021, the Board adopted Resolution No. 202-464 (Item No. 51), which approved the Florida Opioid Allocation and Statewide Response Agreement (the “Florida Plan”). The Florida Plan provided the framework to resolve the pending claims against opioid drug distributors, manufacturers, marketers, and other potential parties in connection with the opioid epidemic. The material provisions of the Florida Plan provide that: (1) the Florida Attorney General is authorized to negotiate and enter into settlements with the Defendants in the multidistrict opioid litigation on behalf of Florida’s subdivisions and cities; (2) the settlement proceeds will be allocated into three funds (state, city/county, and regional); (3) certain large counties (including Broward County) can obtain the full regional fund if they become “Qualified Counties” by reaching agreements with a sufficient number of their municipalities relating to the use of such funds for abatement of the opioid epidemic; and (4) each governmental plaintiff must execute a Participation Agreement to become eligible to receive its share of the settlement funds.
On December 14, 2021 (Item No. 47), the Board approved an Interlocal Agreement for the County to enter into with municipalities that, if approved by a sufficient number of municipalities, would enable the County to qualify as a “Qualified County” under the Florida Plan, which would further enable the County to obtain the regional fund proceeds allocated under the Florida Plan. The County became a Qualified County in March 2022.
In the same agenda item, the Board authorized the County Administrator to enter into Participation Agreements with four Defendants in the opioid litigation (AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and Johnson & Johnson) to settle the County’s claims against them.
Following protracted negotiation and litigation among the parties, a settlement with Purdue Pharma was reached in December 2021. The proposed settlement provided generally that: (1) the Sackler family would contribute $4.275 billion to the settlement; (2) Purdue Pharma would emerge from bankruptcy as a new corporation, owned and operated by the public creditors; and (3) all settlement proceeds would be used for the sole purpose of abating the opioid crisis.
Multiple claimants that included several states, personal injury claimants, hospital districts, and school districts, appealed the settlement throughout the next several years.
Meanwhile, on February 8, 2022 (Item No. 30), the Board authorized the County Administrator to enter into a Participation Agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals to settle the County’s claims against it.
On May 10, 2022 (Item No.10), the Board authorized the County Administrator to enter into Participation Agreements with CVS Pharmacy, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to settle the County’s claims against them.
The United States Supreme Court ultimately accepted the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case for briefing and argument (held on December 4, 2023) on one single issue: whether, as part of the settlement, claims against the Sackler family members, who are not parties in the bankruptcy case but own a majority share of Purdue Pharma, can be released without the consent of the claimants.
On June 27, 2024, in a 5-4 ruling, the Court rejected the settlement reached in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case and held that the Bankruptcy Code did not authorize a release or injunction against nondebtors without the consent of the affected claimants. The Court remanded the case to the bankruptcy court, which immediately ordered the parties back into mediation.
The parties reached a new settlement in January 2025 that was approved by the bankruptcy court in June 2025. In broad terms, the settlement provides that: (1) the Sackler family will pay $6.5 billion over the next 15 years that includes an initial payment of $1.5 billion in the first year; (2) Purdue Pharma will pay $900 million upon emergence from bankruptcy; and (3) all settlement proceeds would be used for the sole purpose of abating the opioid crisis.
While all 50 states have approved the settlement, the exact amount of what the State of Florida would receive will be contingent upon several factors, including the level of participation by Florida’s local subdivisions, municipalities, school districts, towns, and villages. Based on available information to date, the State of Florida is expected to receive between $215 million and $314 million in settlement funds. Under the Florida Plan, the County would receive between $7 million and $11 million in settlement funds, which includes the County’s shares from the city/county bucket and the regional county bucket as a Qualified County. Except for funds allocated to pay attorneys’ fees and costs and the five percent allocable to administrative fees, all settlement funds must be used for abating the opioid crisis. Once all the Participation Agreements have been received from Florida’s local subdivisions, municipalities, school districts, towns, and villages, the County will be able to determine the exact amount of settlement funds it will receive under the Florida Plan.
To receive these amounts from the settlement with the Defendants, the County must approve the Participation Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 1. This agreement is in the same form that the Board approved with respect to other settlements on December 14, 2021, February 8, 2022, and May 10, 2022. As minor changes might be required, the requested approval is of Exhibit 1 in substantially the form attached. The Participation Agreement will release all the County’s claims against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family members. This settlement will have no effect on the County’s unresolved claims against any other distributors, manufacturers, marketers, retailers, and other opioid-related parties.
The County’s outside counsel and the County Attorney’s Office recommend that the Board approve the Participation Agreement.
Source of Additional Information
Danielle W. French, Deputy County Attorney, 954-357-7600
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
Not applicable