Hunter announces $270 million settlement with opioid producer Purdue Pharma
The Associated Press - March 26, 2019 2:13 pm
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says a $270 million settlement with OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma is just “the first step” in the fight to end the opioid addiction crisis.
At a news conference Tuesday confirming the settlement, Hunter said he intends to “hold accountable other defendants … for their role in creating the worst public health crisis in our state and nation we’ve ever seen.”
Oklahoma targeted Purdue Pharma and other drug companies in a 2017 lawsuit that was set to become the first in a coast-to-coast wave of litigation to go to trial.
Hunter says he went to great lengths to ensure Purdue Pharma doesn’t declare bankruptcy to avoid a paying a hefty settlement.
Hunter said the state has “a commitment that they’re not filing for bankruptcy in the near term.”
Purdue Pharma officials acknowledged this month that the company is considering filing for bankruptcy because of the crush of lawsuits targeting it and other opioid producers.
Hunter says he’s made “extensive efforts to ensure that this commitment to the state is bankruptcy proof.”
