An agreement has been reached between state lawmakers and Oklahoma’s attorney general in a dispute over how proceeds from a pending $85 million settlement with opioid maker Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. will be handled, Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman said Friday.
The agreement, which is awaiting final signatures, calls for the $85 million to be deposited initially in an account controlled by the Whitten-Burrage law firm to allow attorneys who have been assisting the state in opioid litigation to take out their legal fees, Balkman said. Then, within 24 hours, the balance of the proceeds must be transferred into the Opioid Lawsuit Settlement Fund, which is being created within the state treasury.
The agreement calls for the money to be used only for the abatement of the nuisance created by the opioid crisis, pursuant to future appropriations, Balkman said.
The state of Oklahoma has presented a proposed 30-year opioid epidemic abatement plan with a price tag of more than $17.5 billion.
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