Other Languages
On January 24, 2024, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that Washington entered into a $149.5 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson payable this year. Of this amount, $123.3 million will be dedicated to abating the opioid crisis in Washington.
As with the prior distributor settlement and Pharmacy & Manufacturer Settlements, this new settlement is contingent on eligible cities and counties joining the settlement. If not enough cities and counties join, the settlement is void. Check the current status of local governments who have signed on here.
The deadline for cities and counties to join the settlement is May 11, 2024.
If all eligible cities and counties join as they did for the prior settlements, cities and counties will receive $61.67 million, which is half of the abatement amount, shortly after the sign-on process is complete.
The One Washington Memorandum of Understanding between the Washington Municipalities splits the city and county settlement share. Exhibit B lists each local government’s percentage share. This amount must be spent on opioid remediation to abate the opioid crisis in their communities. The sooner all eligible cities and counties join the settlement, the sooner Johnson & Johnson will pay.
How to join the settlement
A city or county can join the settlement by signing and returning the Participation Form document on the electronic platform using the link that each will be receiving from the Settlement Administrator. Emails will be sent the week of April 1, 2024.
| Participation Form for the Johnson & Johnson settlement. |
While the electronic platform is strongly preferred, if the city or county prefers, the fully completed Participation Form can be returned to the Settlement Administrator via email at ParticipationandDismissals@NationalOpioidOfficialSettlement.com.
If you have questions for the Settlement Administrator, Tijuan Faulcon whose email address is tfaulcon@browngreer.com is the contact person. Tijuan can answer questions you may have about creating a Portal and executing the Settlement Participation Form, or the National Opioid Settlements. Tijuan cannot provide any legal advice.
The deadline for cities and counties to join the settlement is May 11, 2024
The settlement documents
The Participation Form requires the local governments to abide by the terms of the settlement agreement, which can be found here: Washington-Johnson & Johnson settlement agreement. Exhibit H of the settlement agreement is the “One Washington Memorandum of Understanding between the Washington Municipalities,” which explains the apportionment of the settlement proceeds between the state and local governments.
Contacting the AGO
If you have questions about the settlement or the process to join the settlement, please contact Jeff Rupert, the Division Chief for the AGO’s Complex Litigation Division at Jeffrey.Rupert@atg.wa.gov and comopioidscases@atg.wa.gov. The AGO will be monitoring the sign-on progress and encouraging all eligible local governments in Washington to join.
All opioid settlements
This settlement does not affect the amounts that Washington will receive from past settlements.
The estimated $149.5 million in resolutions from Johnson & Johnson as well as others like Purdue, McKinsey, Mallinckrodt, the three major opioid distributors, and five pharmacy and manufacturer settlements will bring Washington state’s overall total to more than $1.3 billion to help fund the state’s opioid abatement and recovery programs.