Greenwood has rejoined the state’s Purdue Pharma lawsuit following changes that made the suit more lucrative for local governments.
Last year, more than 80 Indiana cities and towns, including Greenwood and Franklin, opted out of the state’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, and the Sackler family, the company’s owners; Cardinal Health; McKesson; AmerisourceBergen; and Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson.
A $26 billion payout from the suit is divided among all states that have joined the lawsuit. Indiana is set to get about $507 million.
Originally, 15% of that was to be divided among all local governments involved in the lawsuit, with the state and Indiana Family and Social Services Administration keeping the rest of the money. That small payout was a major reason the two local cities opted out.
Another sticking point is that local governments would have been forced to abandon other opioid lawsuits they have joined.
House Bill 1193 changed that. Now the local government portion of the state’s allocation is 50% of the $507 million. Also communities are able to be part of future or still ongoing legal action against opioid manufacturers or distributors.
Cities can also use a portion of their lawsuit winnings to cover legal fees associated with the suit.
Greenwood’s three-member Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved rejoining on Monday. Attorneys advising the city on the litigation had recommended Greenwood opt back in, officials said. Franklin rejoined the lawsuit earlier this month.
At least half a dozen municipalities have rejoined the suit since the law was signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb earlier this month.
The amount of the payout is based partially on population, so Greenwood’s payout will be larger than Franklin’s. Franklin is expected to get more than $220,000 from the settlement, said Lynn Gray, Franklin city attorney. Information on Greenwood’s expected settlement was not available by deadline.
Attorney General Todd Rokita wrote a letter to the editor in August 2021 criticizing Franklin and Greenwood for leaving the lawsuit. In part, he said the state was at risk of getting less money because so many cities and towns had left.
The letter also alluded to HB 1193 before it was filed. At that time, he said the plan was to increase the allocation for local governments to 50% of the whole.
“I expressed to all Indiana counties, cities and towns that in this case — like nearly every other — they know how to spend this money better than the state does. I promised them that I would work as hard as I could to secure this reality for them like I have in the past where public monies were secured and shared, so I am pleased to report that is in fact the case again. I am a man of my word — a promise made and a promise kept,” Rokita said in a statement.
He alluded to what the money might be used for in his statement, and asked more communities to rejoin the settlement.
“As I have been saying in counties, cities and towns for a year now, I encourage all the remaining communities to join the opioid settlement my office secured from the manufacturers and distributors and in doing so, provide much-needed resources to address the drug education, prevention and treatment needs of their residents,” Rokita said in the statement.
The bill extends the opt-in date to July 15, allowing community leaders to reconsider based on the new terms.
In other news
Also on Monday, the Greenwood City Council introduced and voted to approve $80,400 for cybersecurity measures through Greenwood’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation.
The city is in the process of renewing its cybersecurity insurance, and to get a quote, needs to have certain cybersecurity measures in place including multi-factor authentication, a cybersecurity training program for phishing emails and having off-site storage and backups, said Greg Wright, city controller.
The city’s information technology department requested using the federal funds to purchase consulting and improvement services. The expense would be for a one-year contract with Sondhi Solutions, an Indianapolis-based cybersecurity consultant.
City council member Ron Bates asked Wright if there was a need to expedite the ordinance so the consultant could get to work. Wright said yes, and the council voted to suspend the rules to push the final vote up a meeting. The final vote, and a public hearing on the expense, will likely take place during its April 4 meeting.
