Attorney General James Distributes First Funds from Historic Opioid Settlements to Long Island
Long Island to Receive $46.9 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 Long Island. In 2022, Long Island will receive a total of $46.9 million, with $20 million going to Nassau County and $26 million going to Suffolk County. 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. Long Island will receive up to $228 million in total over the years as part of these settlements.
“For years, New Yorkers have experienced the dire and deadly effects of opioids peddled by pharmaceutical companies, but we are turning the tide with the distribution of $47 million to help communities on Long Island recover,” said Attorney General James. “These funds, which are secured directly from the companies that fueled this crisis, are going directly to prevention, treatment, and recovery programs. While no money will ever compensate for the hundreds of thousands of deaths and countless families torn apart by opioids, these funds will help us rebuild and heal.”
“For far too long, our region has been plagued by the opioid epidemic, and while these settlement agreements can never bring back the loved ones that have been lost to this terrible epidemic, these funds will have a significant impact on preventing future tragedies as we work to end this crisis once and for all.” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “I would like to thank Attorney General James for her commitment to holding accountable the various manufacturers and distributors who contributed to the devastation caused by these dangerous drugs and delivering these critical dollars that will go towards stopping further death and destruction.”
Today’s payments are the first of many to Long Island 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, Long Island will receive additional payments from the settlements with Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Allergan. In addition, counties 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.
Long Island Total: $46,900,693
- Nassau County: $20,461,139
- Suffolk County: $26,439,555
In October 2021, Attorney General James visited the Thrive Center in Hauppauge, Long Island with Suffolk County Executive Bellone as part of her statewide ‘HealNY’ tour, where she announced that she would deliver up to $228 million to help residents on Long Island combat the opioid epidemic. Following her announcement, a long list of elected officials and community leaders across Long Island expressed their gratitude and support for her work in securing the funds.
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.
Also, in September 2021, Attorney General James announced that the bankruptcy court in Purdue confirmed a $4.5 billion plan — at least $200 million of which will be earmarked for New York — from the Sackler family and foundations that they control, will end the Sacklers’ ability to manufacture opioids ever again, and will shut down Purdue Pharma.
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 deals with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen have a global value of approximately $26 billion.
The cases against Mallinckrodt 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.