By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Select Board unanimously voted to accept an over $490,000 settlement from a large opioid manufacturer and several distributors during a March 21 meeting.
Town Counsel Tom Mullen recalled that the town retained the national law firm Scott+Scott four years ago to join a class action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. He noted that the Select Board accepted a $10,140 settlement from the small opioid distributor Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. last month.
Mullen said Attorney General Maura Healey recently reached a settlement agreement with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
“This settlement is much larger than the Collegium settlement,” said Mullen. “Johnson & Johnson is a major manufacturer.”
Scott+Scott Partner Donald Broggi stated in an email that Massachusetts was awarded $525 million out of a $26 billion settlement with Johnson & Johnson and the three opioid distributors. Mullen said the proposed settlement would award the town $490,563.
“This settlement would give Lynnfield a payout stream over the course of 18 years that would total more than $490,000,” said Mullen. “All of the cities and towns in Massachusetts would get part of the money that is coming through Massachusetts. The division of funds among municipalities was based on the incidents of opioid use disorder, the number of overdoses and the shipments of opioids into communities.”
While Mullen said the Collegium settlement allows the town to spend the $10,140 for “general revenue purposes,” he said the Johnson & Johnson settlement “must only be used for opioid prevention, education and treatment.”
“The fees for Scott+Scott will not be taken out of this sum,” said Mullen. “Unlike the Collegium settlement, this agreement does not have to be unanimous among all of the communities who choose to settle. But any opt-outs will result in the state getting less money, and the state will have less money to distribute to all of the communities. I and Scott+Scott recommend that the Select Board sign this agreement.”
Mullen said the town still has “cases pending in Massachusetts Superior Court against some pharmacies and manufacturers.”
“There is a so-called bellwether case involving Springfield that is set to go to trial later this year,” said Mullen.
Select Board Chairman Dick Dalton asked Mullen if there will be any “larger settlements on the horizon.”
Mullen said the potential settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, has yet to be finalized. He recalled last month that a proposed settlement for Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family had been rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon because it included a provision that would have shielded the Sackler family from future lawsuits. He said last month that, “The parties are now back at the bargaining table.”
“That could be larger than this settlement,” said Mullen during the March 21 meeting.
In response to a question from Dalton, Mullen said Healey negotiated the settlement with Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.
“The attorney general wanted to take 85 percent of the $525 million that Massachusetts would get and distribute the remaining 15 percent to municipalities,” said Mullen. “The municipalities stood up and negotiated, and Scott+Scott was among the negotiators. They were able to get the attorney general to back down and she agreed to give the cities and towns 40 percent. The $490,563 is our share of the 40 percent. The remaining 60 percent will go to the state for the same purposes.”
Select Board member Phil Crawford thanked Mullen and Scott+Scott for fighting to get the $490,563 settlement from Johnson & Johnson and the other three companies.
“I am surprised how quickly this settlement came about,” said Crawford. “I thought we would be talking about it 10 years down the road, so I am very happy that this has happened much sooner. The income stream will help supplement the town’s substance use prevention efforts. I am all for that, and I appreciate everything Tom and Scott+Scott have done.”
After the discussion, the Select Board unanimously voted to accept the settlement from Johnson & Johnson and the three opioid distributors. The Select Board also voted to authorize Dalton to sign the settlement on the town’s behalf.
