CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan is “unacceptable” and he’s voting against it even though more than a dozen other states have dropped their opposition.
“This is a wildly inadequate deal for West Virginia,” Morrisey said during a Tuesday news conference at his state capitol office in Charleston.
Several states are in favor of what’s called the “Denver-plan” to distribute Purdue Pharma funds left after bankruptcy. Morrisey said that plan is based on population and West Virginia loses out. He said the settlement funds should be distributed according to intensity of the opioid problem in a particular state.
“Any such allocation formula fails to recognize the disproportionate harm caused by opioids in our state. I look forward to arguing our case in court this August.”
Morrisey’s opposition lost some steam last week when 15 attorneys general from other states, who were also opposing the settlement plan dropped their opposition. It’s been reported the states will receive millions of documents from Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and an additional $50 million from members of the family that owns the company. The Sackler family is expected to settle the cases for approximately $4.2 billion.
Morrisey is hoping to strengthen his opposition by calling on a number of cities and counties in West Virginia that are also plaintiffs in the case to join him.
“I’m hopeful and I call out today–every single county and city–we’re urging you to join with us. We’ve already got good indication that many people are. But I’m hopeful we can show as much strength as possible as to why West Virginia should be fairly treated in this process,” Morrisey said.
There are currently 3,000 plaintiffs from across the nation voting on the proposed settlement. A confirmation hearing is scheduled for Aug. 9 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Morrisey said he’ll be there to speak against the settlement. Court observers believe the settlement will be approved which would put West Virginia on the lower end of the funds to be distributed.
Morrisey filed the latest lawsuit against Purdue Pharma in 2019. A 2001 lawsuit, which came before Morrisey was elected, settled in 2004 for $10 million.
The current lawsuit alleges Purdue Pharma “proliferated a deceptive marketing strategy with reckless disregard for compliance enforcement.” It also claims its sales reps claimed OxyContin had no dose ceiling.
The state currently has lawsuits against five opioid manufacturers and distributors. Morrisey said each are in different stages but they have similar goals.
“We need to solve this problem and getting the right type of settlements and agreements and money put into programs on the ground–that’s critical and certainly my goal,” Morrisey said.
He added his opposition would also be the same as it is in the Purdue Pharma case if the defendants in the other lawsuits support a funding formula based on population.
“It’s going to be a consistent, resounding no if you’re going to have, primarily, a population-based formula,” Morrisey said.