Attorney General James Distributes First Funds from Historic Opioid Settlements to Capital Region
Albany and Capital Region Receive Over $5.7 Million in First Round of Payments
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today distributed the first round of payments from the opioid settlements to counties in the Capital Region and Albany. In 2022, the Capital Region will receive more than $5.7 million, with more than $1.6 million going to Albany County and more than $110,000 going to Albany. These funds are the result of the $1.5 billion that Attorney General James has secured so far for New York state as a result of settlements with the manufacturers and distributors of opioids. All 62 counties and the five largest cities in the state will begin receiving funds this week, which will be used for opioid treatment and prevention efforts. The Capital Region will receive up to $32 million in total over the years as part of these settlements.
“For years, New Yorkers have suffered from the dangerous and deadly effects of opioids, but we are distributing more than $5.7 million to support our communities in the Capital Region with prevention and treatment,” said Attorney General James. “With these funds, we will help residents and families recover and rebuild. While no amount of money will ever bring back all that we have lost to this epidemic, we will continue to hold those who peddled these drugs accountable and invest these funds to heal our communities.”
“Albany County continues to feel the devastation of the opioid crisis, with annual overdose deaths skyrocketing by an alarming 77 percent compared to 2019 numbers. We were one of the first counties in New York to launch a lawsuit against Big Pharma, but we couldn’t be where we are today without having a champion like Attorney General James fighting beside us,” said Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy. “With the first round of payments from this global settlement coming this week, we are another step closer to funding and expanding critical addiction treatment, recovery, and prevention programs and services that will turn around these tragic statistics and ultimately save lives.”
“The opioid epidemic has impacted not only the individuals utilizing the drugs, but their families, friends, and the communities they live in, and has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic we continue to live through today,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “Our residents should not be left to fight this epidemic alone, and that is why I am extremely thankful Attorney General Letitia James has made it a focus of her tenure to hold drug companies accountable for their deceptive practices and is reinvesting those monies in the communities most effected by their malfeasance.”
Today’s payments are the first of many to the Capital Region to combat the opioid crisis. The first payments come from settlements with opioid distributors — AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., and McKesson Corporation. Later this year, counties in the Capital Region and Albany will receive additional payments from the settlements with Endo Health Solutions, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan. In addition, counties and cities will receive funds from the New York State Opioid Settlement Fund, which is managed by the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).
The breakdown of the funds that will be distributed in 2022 is below.
Capital Region Total: $5,783,397
- City of Albany: $116,277
- Albany County: $1,664,997
- Columbia County: $391,761
- Greene County: $473,167
- Rensselaer County: $757,967
- Saratoga County: $1,001,677
- Schenectady County: $726,152
- Warren County: $365,142
- Washington County: $286,252
In October 2021, Attorney General James made a stop to Albany as part of her statewide ‘HealNY’ tour, where she visited Albany Medical Center and announced that she will deliver up to $32 million to the Capital Region to help local residents recover from the opioid epidemic. On the same day, she also visited the Elizabeth House Women’s Residential Treatment Facility in Troy and met with residents in treatment there.
In March 2019, Attorney General James filed the nation’s most extensive lawsuit to hold accountable the various manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid epidemic. The manufacturers named in the complaint included Purdue Pharma and its affiliates, as well as members of the Sackler Family (owners of Purdue) and trusts they control; Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its affiliates (including its parent company Johnson & Johnson); Mallinckrodt LLC and its affiliates; Endo Health Solutions and its affiliates; and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and its affiliates. The distributors named in the complaint were McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc.
In December 2021, Attorney General James scored a court victory against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA after a jury found the company and its affiliates liable for violating New Yorkers’ rights. A subsequent trial will now be held to determine how much Teva and others will be required to pay, which will be added to the up to $1.5 billion Attorney General James has already secured for the state of New York from different opioid manufacturers and distributors.
In July 2021, Attorney General James secured a settlement with McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen that will deliver up to $1 billion to New York state to combat the opioid epidemic.
In June 2021, Attorney General James announced a settlement that will deliver $230 to New York and end Johnson & Johnson’s sale of opioids nationwide.
The cases against Mallinckrodt, Purdue Pharma, and Rochester Drug Cooperative are now moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The settlements were brought about by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, Senior Advisor and Special Counsel M. Umair Khan, Director of Legal Initiatives Erica Gilles, Assistant Attorneys General Conor Duffy, Carol Hunt, Noah Popp, and Special Counsel Andy Amer. The trial work was done by Senior Enforcement Counsel John Oleske and Special Counsel Monica Hanna, as well as Assistant Attorneys General Conor Duffy, Diane Johnston, Eve Woodin, Leo O’Toole, Jeremy Pfetsch, Jennifer Simcovitch, Larry Reina, Michael Reisman, Lois Saldana, Louis Testa, Stephanie Torre, and Wil Handley; Paralegals Ketty Dautruche and Christine Reynolds; Legal Assistant David Payne; Director of Research and Analytics Jonathan Werberg; Data Scientist Gautam Sisodia; Data Analyst Anushua Choudhury; Information Technology Specialists Hewson Chen and Paige Podolny; E-Discovery Document Review Specialist Kristin Petrella; and former Counsel for Opioids and Impact Litigation David Nachman.