Agenda - 06-01-2021; 6-a - Opioid Litigation Memorandum of Agreement

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1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 1, 2021 Action Agenda Item No. 6-a SUBJECT: Opioid Litigation Memorandum of Agreement DEPARTMENT: County Attorney ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Memorandum of Agreement John Roberts, County Attorney, 245- Resolution 2318 PURPOSE: To enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the State of North Carolina regarding the disbursement of settlement funds related to the national opioid litigation. BACKGROUND: In 2018 the Board of Commissioners authorized Orange County's participation in national litigation related to the nationwide opioid epidemic. At that time the County entered an agreement with the McHugh Fuller Law Group, PLLC to represent the County's interests in the national litigation. The national litigation has resulted in the potential for a $26 billion settlement with the four largest corporate defendants. Should such a settlement occur, the attorneys representing the local governments, including McHugh Fuller, could have an attorney payment fund of up to $1.6 billion. Under a settlement of this type, North Carolina could receive up to $850 million in potential settlement funds over approximately 20 years. For more than a year, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North Carolina Department of Justice, and a committee consisting of five county commissioners, five county managers, and five county attorneys have worked on the terms of an agreement regarding the disbursement of potential settlement funds among the state and the counties should a settlement of the national litigation occur. The result of this work is the attached MOA that recognizes the critical role of North Carolina counties in delivering human and social services to county residents. It directs substantial resources to local governments on the front lines of the opioid epidemic while ensuring that these resources are used in an effective way to address the epidemic. Should the national litigation settle as discussed herein, the settlement funds will be distributed among local governments according to the National Multidistrict Litigation Opioid Allocation Class Model, which is a formula developed by the national litigation attorneys, including McHugh Fuller. The formula allocates funds in proportion to where the opioid crisis is the most severe. The model accounts for the number of pills dispensed, number of opioid overdose deaths, and number of people suffering from opioid use disorder. A county's allocation percentage will not change over the term of the MOA.