AUSTIN – The Office of the Attorney General of Texas finalized a settlement with Walmart for $168 million for the company’s alleged negligent practices that contributed to the nationwide opioid crisis.
The agreement will resolve claims by the state of Texas and its political subdivisions against Walmart for the company’s practices that allegedly exacerbated the opioid epidemic in the state of Texas and across the nation, a press release states.
The settlement terms contain injunctive relief provisions pertaining to opioid marketing, selling, and dispensing practices, from which the key claims in the lawsuit arose.
The OAG is encouraging affected political subdivisions in Texas – such as local governments and county governments in the Texas Opioids Multidistrict Litigation – to sign on to the settlement in order to ensure that Texas citizens and entities may receive all benefits and opioid remediation funds owed to them.
Texas political subdivisions who have not yet signed on to the settlement should visit the OAG’s website for more information, the press release states.
Joining the settlement allows for subdivisions to receive direct payments and grant money in the form of opioid abatement funding from the Texas Opioid Council. The deadline for all Texas political subdivisions to sign onto and receive the benefits from the settlement is July 31.
By aggressively pursuing litigation to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for its role in the increased suffering, addiction, and death associated with the national opioid epidemic, the OAG has secured over $2.91 billion from Allergan, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Mallinckrodt, Teva, Endo, Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and McKinsey for Texas and its citizens.