On January 4, 2023, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office announced four new settlements in its opioid-litigation campaign—a campaign that Nix Patterson has helped wage since 2017. The new settlements, which involve drug manufacturer Allergan and top U.S. pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, provide Oklahoma with up to $226.1 million to use in the state’s efforts to combat the ongoing opioid crisis. With these new settlements, Oklahoma’s total settlement value from opioid litigation now exceeds $900 million.
Nix Patterson and their co-counsel have been instrumental in Oklahoma’s opioid litigation and, in the announcement, the Oklahoma Attorney General also took the opportunity to thank the firms for their outstanding service to the state:
“I would like the thank the State’s legal team, which includes the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office and the State’s outside Counsel, Whitten Burrage and Nix Patterson, for their professionalism, hard work, and dedication over the past five years to secure these landmark settlements for Oklahomans.”
Nix Patterson also issued a statement to express what this campaign has meant to us and to affirm out commitment to continue fighting for families impacted by the opioid crisis:
“We’ve dedicated the last five years of our lives—in and out of the courtroom—to helping Oklahoma on the path to recovery from the opioid crisis. It has been an honor to work closely with the Attorney General’s Office, numerous state agencies, legislative leadership, the Oklahoma Commission on Opioid Abuse, and the courageous families who have lost loved ones to this crisis. While our work in the courtroom has come to an end, we will continue to work in the community to offer help.”
For Nix Patterson, the Oklahoma Opioid Litigation marks another victory in a long line of successful partnerships with state and tribal governments seeking justice for their citizens—from the Texas Tobacco litigation to the BP oil spill.
Nix Patterson also represents the State of Washington in its case against opioid manufacturer and former opium cultivator Johnson & Johnson. That case is still ongoing.