Florida is expected to receive between $233.37 million and $325.93 million as part of a settlement announced Thursday involving 15 states, Purdue Pharma, Inc. and the Sackler family, which long headed the drug company, according to the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers will pay a total of $7.4 billion to settle allegations that the company manufactured and marketed drugs that drove the opioid epidemic.
The funds will largely go to local and state governments to help communities hard-hit by addiction. The Florida Attorney General’s Office said the settlement “will deliver funding directly to communities across the country over the next 15 years to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs.”
Pensacola attorney Mike Papantonio has been at the forefront of opioid litigation and serves as Lead and Co-Lead in discovery and trial in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL, criticized the settlement approach.
“The Department of Justice for both the Obama and Biden administrations has been unwilling to arrest and convict corporate leadership that kills thousands of people with their products even when their outrageous conduct is nothing less than manslaughter. These last two administrations have simply allowed them to pay money rather than spend time behind bars like any other American,” Papantonio said.
Papantonio and his firm, Levin Papantonio, have played a crucial role in opioid litigation, including helping negotiate a $26 billion settlement with America’s “Big Three” drug distributors: AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. His firm has represented thousands of government entities seeking reimbursement for government spending related to the crisis.
A 2021 multistate settlement would have required Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers to pay $5.5 billion, but the U.S. Supreme Court last year invalidated that settlement, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.
Other states in the newly announced settlement are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. Florida also has reached settlements with several other drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies stemming from the opioid epidemic.
BACKGROUND: Beyond his legal work, Papantonio has leveraged multiple platforms to raise public awareness about the opioid crisis. He authored the legal thriller “Law and Addiction,” which draws from his experience to dramatize the pharmaceutical industry’s role in the epidemic and the subsequent legal battles.
Through “America’s Lawyer,” he regularly investigates and reports on corporate malfeasance, including extensive coverage of the opioid crisis and its impact on communities.
His expertise on the subject has also led to appearances in documentaries, notably “Oxy Kingpins” (2021), which examines the complex web of responsibility in the opioid epidemic.
Levin Papantonio remains at the forefront of opioid litigation. Recently, the firm has expanded its focus to include legal action against Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), targeting these intermediaries for their alleged role in perpetuating the opioid crisis.
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