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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 suc...
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