Cleveland.com | Eric Heisig
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Wednesday informed two opioid makers that the $15 million they agreed to pay to settle lawsuits filed by Cuyahoga and Summit counties has no bearing on a statewide lawsuit.
Yost said in letters to executives at Endo International and Allergan that he still plans to pursue claims against both companies on behalf of all Ohio residents, even those who live in the counties that have come to agreements. In other words, the companies should not presume they could subtract the $15 million from any settlement or judgment in the statewide lawsuit, Yost wrote.
The letters are part of a larger fight Yost and other state attorneys general are waging for control of any potential money arising from litigation against drug companies over the nation’s opioid epidemic.
“No settlement with any political subdivision(s) relieves (the company) of any liability to the State for any claim that Ohio has brought,” Yost’s letters say. “(The settlement) reflects no more than hard municipal costs paid directly by the political subdivisions, and does not include settlement of any portion of any claim brought by the State.