Sausage-making

2 October 2019 By Robert Cyran Follow @rob_cyran

The $348 bln drugmaker’s low-cost deal to end a suit from two Ohio counties is a sign the painkiller-scandal litigation may cost less than expected. Financial incentives and game theory pressure hard-hit areas to come to terms quickly. Settlements may only partly cover damages.

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Johnson & Johnson said on Oct. 1 that it has settled opioid litigation claims with Cuyahoga and Summit counties in Ohio. The company will pay $10 million to the counties, reimburse $5 million of the counties’ legal and other expenses and direct $5.4 million of its charitable contributions to local non-profit organizations dealing with opioid problems. The company did not admit liability.

Nationwide there are more than 2,600 lawsuits by state and local governments against various parties involved in the opioid crisis. About 2,000 cases, mainly brought by local governments, are consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio. Cuyahoga and Summit are the first of these counties to go to trial, later this month, against opioid manufacturers and distributors. J&J is the fourth drugmaker to settle with these two counties.

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