Southern Tier to Receive More Than $4.8 Million in First Round of Payments

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James distributed the first round of payments from the opioid settlements to the Southern Tier. In 2022, the Southern Tier will receive a total of $4.8 million. 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. The Southern Tier will receive up to $26.7 million in total over the years as part of these settlements.

“The Southern Tier has been devastated by the effects of opioids, but we are distributing more than $4.8 million to the region this year alone to help with treatment and prevention,” said Attorney General James. “These funds will go a long way in helping communities rebuild from the opioid epidemic. While no amount of money will ever make up for all those we have lost to this crisis, these funds are vital in helping us recover.”

These payments are the first of many to the Southern Tier 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, the Southern Tier will receive additional payments from the settlements with Endo Health Solutions, 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.  

Southern Tier Total: $4,863,558

• Broome County: $1,664,579
• Chemung County: $734,827
• Chenango County: $308,067
• Delaware County: $327,684
• Schuyler County: $124,216
• Steuben County: $678,280
• Tioga County: $323,499
• Tompkins County: $702,406

In October 2021, Attorney General James visited Broome and Tompkins counties as part of her statewide ‘HealNY’ tour, where she announced that she would deliver up to $26.7 million to counties throughout the Southern Tier to help local residents recover the opioid epidemic.

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. 

In December 2021, Attorney General James scored a court victory against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA after a jury found the company and its affiliates liable for violating New Yorkers’ rights. A subsequent trial will now be held to determine how much Teva and others will be required to pay, which will be added to the up to $1.5 billion Attorney General James has already secured for the state of New York from different opioid manufacturers and distributors.

In September 2021, Attorney General James secured $50 million from Endo for New York state and Nassau and Suffolk counties to combat the opioid crisis and removed the opioid manufacturer from New York’s ongoing opioid trial.

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 cases against Mallinckrodt, Purdue Pharma, and Rochester Drug Cooperative are now moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

This matter was handled by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, Senior Advisor and Special Counsel M. Umair Khan, Director of Legal Initiatives Erica Gilles, and Assistant Attorneys General Carol Hunt and Noah Popp. The settlement was also brought about by the work led by Senior Enforcement Counsel John Oleske and Special Counsel Monica Hanna, as well as Assistant Attorneys General Conor Duffy, Diane Johnston, Leo O’Toole, Jeremy Pfetsch, Larry Reina, Michael Reisman, Lois Saldana, and Louis Testa; Project Attorneys Wil Handley, Stephanie Torre, and Eve Woodin; 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.