Court Panel Recommends Distribution of $2.13 Billion in Opioid Crisis Legal Fees

A court-appointed panel recommended the distribution of a $2.13 billion legal fee pool from nationwide drug industry settlements related to the U.S. opioid crisis. The largest share, 18.6% or $396 million, was awarded to the national firm Motley Rice. Other significant allocations include Simmons Hanly Conroy with 11.4% ($244 million), Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd with 8.2% ($174 million), and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein with 5.65% ($120 million).

This fee pool is derived from settlements exceeding $46 billion with major drugmakers, distributors, and pharmacies accused by local and Native American tribal governments of contributing to the opioid addiction epidemic. These settlements, overseen by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, include agreements with companies like Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Cencora, McKesson, Cardinal Health, CVS, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Walmart. Firms have until June 21 to appeal the panel’s recommendations.

Notably, these fees do not include a separate potential $6 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma, which the U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing. Overall, opioid settlements now total over $50 billion. However, many state and local governments are still developing plans for utilizing these funds to address the opioid crisis.

Since 1999, opioid overdoses have claimed more than 800,000 lives, with lawsuits claiming that drugmakers downplayed the risks of opioids while distributors and pharmacies failed to address illegal diversions.