Co-lead counsels, including Simmons Hanly Conroy Shareholder Jayne Conroy and Napoli Shkolnik PLLC Partner Hunter Shkolnik worked with New York State Attorney General Letitia James to secure critical funding for communities.
Following settlement announcement – landmark jury trial continues today with two remaining defendants as closing arguments are set to begin.
Central Islip, New York – Simmons Hanly Conroy, counsel for Suffolk County and Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, counsel for Nassau County, announced today that they, working alongside the New York State Attorney General’s Office, have secured a $200 million settlement with former opioid manufacturer Allergan as part of the ongoing consolidated opiate litigation in New York State.
“Once again, the tremendous, combined efforts of the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Napoli Shkolnik and Simmons Hanly Conroy working on this case has resulted in an agreement that will ensure Suffolk County receives millions of dollars in funding that they can use to support much-needed opioid abatement, treatment and recovery programs,” said Jayne Conroy, lead counsel for Suffolk County and co-lead counsel in the national prescription opioid MDL. “To secure a settlement of this size at this stage in the trial is a huge victory for Suffolk County and communities throughout New York State. While we are excited to bring in another source of funding to address the opioid crisis caused by the defendants, we remain focused on the remainder of this trial as we enter into closing arguments.”
The settlement agreement ensures funding will be made available for critical abatement programs in a more expedited fashion. This latest development follows previously announced settlements with McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, Walmart Inc., Rite Aid Corp, CVS Health Corp. Endo, Par, and Johnson & Johnson totaling more than $1.6 billion in recovered funds for all of New York State.
“The work done by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Nassau County, and Suffolk County is bringing much needed help to our communities who are in such great need,” said Hunter Shkolnik, lead counsel for Nassau County.
The New York State trial is slated to begin closing arguments today. Opioid manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and its affiliates and opioid distributor Anda Inc. are the only remaining defendants in the case.
In August 2016, Suffolk County filed one of the first county lawsuits in the country to hold opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies accountable for their role in creating and perpetuating the opioid epidemic. The case was consolidated in 2017 with Nassau and other New York counties’ similar lawsuits. The state of New York joined the proceedings in 2018. The proceedings mark the first opioid case to proceed with a jury trial in state and federal court.
The New York State-Court case is independent from the federal opioid litigation proceeding, National Prescription Opiate Litigation (NPOL), formed in December 2017, in which federal opioid cases brought by over 2,800 American cities, towns, counties and more are consolidated before Hon. Dan Polster of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Trials in the NPOL are organized into case tracks or “bellwethers” that serve as test cases to help reach resolutions for various claim, plaintiff, and defendant types. There are currently several case tracks moving toward trial.
The case is In Re: Opioid Litigation, case number 400000/2017; County of Suffolk v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., case number 400001/2017; County of Nassau v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., case number 400008/2017; and State of New York v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., case number 400016/2018, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Suffolk.
