Briol & Benson’s Clients Agree to Opioid Settlement

A nationwide settlement with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and three of the largest opioid distributors will bring at least $300 million to the State of Minnesota to help abate the consequences of the opioid epidemic. Briol & Benson represented nine Minnesota counties and the City of Minneapolis (almost 40% of the population of the State of Minnesota) in lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of opioids. After many months of negotiations with Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison, our clients reached an agreement with the State that will allocate 75 percent of funds received from these opioid settlements directly to cities and counties and 25 percent to the State of Minnesota, for spending on opioid treatment, abatement, and prevention. This was a substantial improvement on the ratio proposed in the national negotiations that would have directed only 15 percent of the settlement funding to cities and counties (which bear the vast majority of opioid-related costs) and would have left the great majority of funds to be awarded by a committee established for the purpose, a potential bureaucratic nightmare. We congratulate Minnesota cities and counties and Attorney-General Ellison for reaching an advantageous result for Minnesotans and their state and local governments. Read more in the Star Tribune.

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