On Monday, Baltimore is scheduled to begin a much-anticipated trial against drug companies in an effort to assign blame for the city’s worst-in-the-nation opioid overdose death crisis. Six years in the making, the trial will be the city’s last chance to add to the massive amounts of money it has already received from other pharmaceutical companies this year as part of settlement agreements.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of court Monday.
Who is being sued?
When the lawsuit was first filed six years ago under then-mayor Catherine Pugh, there were a host of drug companies involved. Today, only three companies remain: Johnson & Johnson, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, now known as Cencora. The other parties reached settlements with the city to avoid a trial where it’s possible a jury could have determined they were liable for even greater damages.
City officials have estimated that, when all is said and done, it’s possible Baltimore could take in more than $650 million, and perhaps an amount close to $1 billion. Bryan Doherty, Mayor Brandon Scott’s communications director, has said repeatedly the Scott administration is committed to holding the drug companies responsible.
Some of the remaining companies on the lawsuit have denied wrongdoing. In a statement, a spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson said the city’s claims “have no basis in the facts or the law,” and that the drugmaker “did everything a responsible manufacturer of these important prescription pain medicines should do.”
“We deeply sympathize with those affected by the impact of opioid abuse and addiction,” the spokesperson said. “In 2022, the company announced a nationwide opioid settlement agreement that the State of Maryland and every other eligible jurisdiction in Maryland participated in, which brought immediate financial support to address the opioid crisis. Unfortunately, the City of Baltimore chose not to join the settlement and pursued litigation through a plaintiff law firm that would collect a significant amount of any potential judgment.”
How bad is Baltimore’s opioid crisis?
Exceptionally bad. As documented in a series of stories published in The Baltimore Banner and The New York Times, Baltimore’s overdose death rate from 2018 to 2022 was nearly double of any other large American city and higher than: nearly all of Appalachia during its prescription pill crisis; the Midwest during the peak of rural meth labs; and New York during the crack cocaine epidemic.
In the last six years, nearly 6,000 people have died in Baltimore from opioid overdoses. It is the worst drug crisis ever seen in an American city. And people are dying all over the city, according to an analysis of autopsy records. Virtually every neighborhood in Baltimore has seen at least one overdose death since 2014.
How much money has the city won so far?
So far, Baltimore’s attorneys have negotiated five settlements for just over $400 million, including:
- CVS for $45 million
- Allergan for $45 million
- Teva Pharmaceuticals for $80 million
- Walgreens for $80 million
- Cardinal Health for $152.5 million
It’s possible that one or all of the companies remaining in the lawsuit will reach settlement agreements with the city before trial, or even during.
The trial, which could last weeks, is going to be split into two parts. In the first, a jury will determine whether any of the companies are liable for Baltimore’s opioid crisis and, if so, whether to award damages and how much. In the second phase, a city judge will consider how to address the public health aspect of the crisis.
Other counties in Maryland settled lawsuits years ago. Why is Baltimore different?
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office reached a $400 million deal with multiple drug companies to be paid out over 18 years on behalf of every jurisdiction in the state except for the city. But Baltimore opted out because it felt it could get a better deal — meaning more money — than what it would have received under the attorney general’s agreement.
The high-risk, high-reward strategy has paid off handsomely. Baltimore has taken in more than three times what it would have received under the state deal, and could win even more at trial or in late settlements.
For a deeper look at the strategy, read this story.
Why is Baltimore using private attorneys?
Drug companies have deep pockets, meaning they can hire the best attorneys money can buy. Baltimore’s law department is dedicated, but sometimes cities need help, which is why the city brought on the Houston-headquartered firm Susman Godfrey.
Susman Godfrey is known for its ability to win high-profile cases and win them big — it represented Dominion Voting Systems in the defamation suit against Fox News and the residents of Flint, Michigan, in their fight for damages as a result of their water crisis.
Susman Godfrey took the case on contingency, meaning they front all the city’s legal costs and only get paid when or if the city wins. So far, it’s been a lucrative arrangement for the private attorneys.
Baltimore has likely paid Susman Godfrey upwards of $120 million so far. Baltimore has not released an exact amount but an email from the city’s law department shows Susman Godfrey is in line to receive one-third of settlement payments or damages won at trial, except for in the first settlement with Allergan, for which the law firm was paid nearly half. The Allergan settlement resulted in more money for the firm because it needed to recoup some of the costs spent so far on litigation, city officials said.
When will the city start spending its opioid money? How will it spend it?
Last month, Scott signed an executive order laying out spending guidelines for the funds received so far, which are to be put into a trust. The trust, which has been compared to a college endowment, will be spent over at least a 15-year period, with a minimum of 5% to be doled out each year.
Spending decisions for the funds will go through multiple layers of review before final approval. A new “Restitution Advisory Board” will make recommendations, and they will then will go before an “Overdose Cabinet” for review before the mayor makes the final call. Community organizations, health care providers and any city agency can apply for money from the trust fund, with the first allocations expected in July at the start of the next budget cycle.
The city will begin soliciting applications for membership on the Restitution Advisory Board Thursday. The board, expected to consist of 13 to 17 voting members, will include appointees by the mayor and several other top administration officials; two members of the City Council; and representatives from Baltimore’s public health and drug-impacted communities.
However, some of the money was already allocated as part of the settlement agreements, which the city has refused to release ahead of trial. At least $20 million is headed to the public health department.
Millions more are being steered to select community organizations and treatment facilities, all of which received the funds without applying for them. City officials have declined to talk about how those organizations were picked, saying to do so would jeopardize ongoing negotiations with the remaining companies.
