NASHVILLE – Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery says a federal lawsuit settlement announced Monday by two Ohio counties with opioid drug makers and distributors “is an important step” in moving toward a 50-state “global” agreement with states totaling $48 billion.
Slatery, who joined with state attorneys general from North Carolina and Pennsylvania in a national telephone conference call, said it would “ensure people struggling with opioid addiction across the country get the help they need as soon as possible.”
A comprehensive resolution “on the table,” the Republican argued, “will distribute funds fairly between states, counties and cities while also ensuring that these companies change their business practices to prevent a public health crisis like this from ever happening again.”
His comments came as two Ohio counties settled a federal lawsuit against four drug companies earlier in the day for $260 million.
But efforts by Slatery and other state attorneys general are getting pushback from Tennessee local district attorneys who are among 14 DAs representing nearly half the state’s counties who have their own pending lawsuits against narcotic painkiller manufacturers and distributors in state courts. The DAs have already crossed swords with Slatery over his previous efforts to get their litigation halted.