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Ratification of County Attorney’s Execution of Settlement Participation Agreement With Defendant, Publix Supermarkets, Regarding Opioid Litigation
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BRIEF OVERVIEW
I. The Litigation
On January 29, 2019, the Board of County Commissioners selected a litigation team consisting of numerous nationally renowned law firms including Podhurst Orseck, P.A.; Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor, PA; Baron & Budd, PC; Greene, Ketchum, Farrell, Bailey & Tweet, LLP; McHugh Fuller Law Group, PLLC; Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Dietzler, PLLC; Powell & Majestro, PLLC., and the Law Office of Lucas Magazine (collectively, “Levin”) as outside counsel to represent the County with regard to opioid litigation. Publix Supermarkets is one of the defendants that the County sued in the multi-district litigation (“MDL”)
On June 6, 2019, the County Attorney's Office and Levin filed a federal lawsuit for damages on Hernando County’s behalf against several participants in the opioid industry. The County filed its suit in the Middle District of Florida, but it was subsequently transferred to become part of the MDL case pending in the Northern District of Ohio (case no. 1:17-md-2804).
(An MDL is a federal legal procedure that is designed to consolidate complex cases that involve similar legal issues before one court for all discovery and pretrial proceedings. The goal of an MDL is to expedite proceedings, conserve resources, and foster consistent court rulings across different lawsuits. The Opioid MDL is the largest such proceeding in U.S. history, and it has been described as the most complex civil litigation in U.S. history. Although the case is currently in the Northern District of Ohio, if it does not settle it will be tried in the Middle District of Florida.)
II. The Proposed Settlement
A committee of plaintiffs recently reached a settlement with Publix. The terms of the proposed settlement are still confidential, and the County can only make such disclosures as are necessary to comply with a court order or applicable law including,
without limitation, Florida’s Public Records Act and Open Meetings Act.
The County Attorney’s Office can disclose that if the settlement is effectuated, Publix will make a one-time payment to the County of $838,216.38, which minus attorney’s fees and the required common benefit fund deduction, the County will net $628,662.28. The exact schedule of payment that Hernando County will receive if it approves the settlement, however, is not yet known.
The County’s outside counsel strongly recommends that the County participate in the proposed settlement.
Due to the very short turn-around time that the County had to execute and return the settlement participation form, the County Attorney had to sign and return that form on the County’s behalf.
III. Recommendation
Hernando County’s counsel recommend that Hernando County participate in the above-described settlement and ratify the County Attorney’s execution of the participation form (copy attached).
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact at this time.
LEGAL NOTE
The Board has the authority to approve this Agenda Item pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 125.01.
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RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by Hernando County’s opioid counsel that the Board approve this agenda item as outlined above and ratify the County Attorney’s signature and submittal of the Local Government Participation Agreement.