Schuyler County in line to receive $362,000 opioid settlement

Three national pharmacy chains—CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart--will pay Schuyler County up to $362,000 to settle claims the companies contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis in that county, under a settlement agreement to be voted on by the Schuyler County Legislature at its April meeting.

 

On Monday (March 27), the county’s Management and Finance Committee, chaired by Watkins Glen legislator Phillip Barnes, voted to recommend the settlement and authorized Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman to execute the necessary legal documents upon approval by the Schuyler County Legislature.  The legislature will consider the measure on Monday (April 10).

 

The county is estimated to receive $125,031 from CVS, $158,486 from Walgreens and $79,038 from Walmart, Getman said.

 

According to Getman, the three companies all agreed to the settlement with the county as a part of a nationwide agreement to resolve all opioid litigation brought by states and local political subdivisions, including a pending lawsuit filed by the county, as well as later claims brought by the New York State Attorney General’s office. The agreement calls for the three chains to pay the county over the next fifteen years, with payments expected to begin in late 2023. 

 

Getman said that the settlement funds can be used for a variety of purposes.

 

“Potential uses include treating opioid addiction, law enforcement expenditures, funding social services and similar anti-drug efforts,” Getman explained.

The proposed settlement also orders the companies to implement changes to prevent fraudulent prescriptions, Getman noted.  Those changes include the companies addressing their compliance structures, pharmacist judgment, diversion prevention, suspicious order monitoring, and reporting on blocked and potentially problematic prescribers.

If approved, the agreement would be one of several opioid settlements Schuyler County has been a part of over the past five years.  In 2021, the county legislature authorized Getman to accept up to $121,000 from Johnson & Johnson and up to $546,000 from distributors McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation to treat, reduce and prevent opioid abuse.  A similar agreement, for $41,000, was obtained from defendant Actavis, Inc. in early 2022.  In January, the county legislature authorized Getman to accept up to $116,000 from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. 

 

If these latest agreements are approved, the county will be in line to receive nearly $1.2 million total to date for opioid prevention and remediation.

 

“One cannot put a price on lives lost and families torn apart,” Getman said, “but with nearly $1.2 million expected to be delivered to Schuyler County, we can provide our community with financial assistance to continue this battle and hold these companies responsible for their role in the opioid epidemic.”

 

The settlements stem from a 2018 lawsuit the county filed against approximately thirty defendants, including some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry. The lawsuit alleged the defendants had long known that opioids were addictive and subject to abuse, particularly when used long-term for chronic non-cancer pain, and should not be used except as a last-resort. However, the lawsuit stated, the defendants spent hundreds of millions of dollars disseminating scientific materials and advertising that misrepresented the risks of  long-term opioid use.

 

Schuyler County was one of many local governments that filed lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid pain killers. At least 14 counties across New York sued the pharmaceutical companies for fraudulent marketing practices.

 

After the counties sued, in March 2019, the New York State Attorney General’s office brought its own lawsuit on behalf of the state.   In 2021, Attorney General Letitia James championed legislation to create an opioid settlement fund and in 2022 she announced a tentative deal with CVS, Walgreens and Walmart that she says will deliver over $13 Billion for communities nationwide to combat the opioid crisis.

 

Schuyler County’s lawsuit against other defendants remains pending, Getman said, with the possibility of more settlements and additional funding to the county still to come.  

 

The three companies involved in the latest proposed agreement have each issued their own statements denying liability and supporting settlement.

 

Resolution No. 21 (Intro), ... by Steven Getman

Schuyler County Municipalities Fight Wal-Mart’s Tax Reduction Claim

A preliminary conference has been scheduled for June 23 in the case of Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust (“Wal-Mart”) against the Town of Dix Board of Assessment Review and other affected Schuyler County municipalities.

In the meantime, attorneys for the affected municipalities, Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman and Town of Dix Attorney Robert Halpin have served a demand to audit Wal-Mart’s books and records to substantiate the retail giant’s statement of income and expenses.

In July 2016, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, filed suit alleging that their store in the Village of Watkins Glen was over-assessed. The current assessment values the property at $11,700,000.00 (Eleven Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars). Wal-Mart has claimed their property is only worth $7,500,000.00 (Seven Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars). In 2012, Wal-Mart agreed that their property was valued at $11,400,000.00 (Eleven Million, Four Hundred Thousand, Dollars)

Because any such assessment reduction would adversely affect all real property tax jurisdictions in the county deriving taxes from the Wal-Mart property, the affected municipalities—the Town of Dix, the Village of Watkins Glen, the Watkins Glen School District and Schuyler County--joined forces to fight Wal-Mart’s claims.

According to Getman, the June 23 preliminary conference will likely result in the court fixing a date for trial, as well as directing the parties to obtain appraisals and sales reports, and to exchange and file appraisal reports and sales reports.

In anticipation of that trial, the defendants have already served a demand upon Wal-Mart to make their relevant books and records available for audit. That audit should be completed in approximately 120 days, Getman noted.

Nationally, some reports have previously criticized Wal-Mart for what has been called a “systemic” attempt by the company to lower its taxes while benefitting from billions of dollars in public subsidies to build its stores and site infrastructure. In 2007, the Huffington Post called the company “America’s tax deadbeat” for such attempts. That article cited efforts by the company in other parts of upstate New York, including Geneva and Wilton, to lower its taxes.