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2 <br /> <br />4. How many Minnesota cities and counties are engaged in litigation against the <br />Distributors and J&J? <br /> <br />Twenty-six counties and seven cities have filed lawsuits against the Distributors and/or <br />J&J. Under the MN MOA (see additional information below), all 87 counties and every <br />city that meets the eligibility criteria would receive settlement payments regardless of <br />whether they filed lawsuits, but they must join the Settlements. The Settlements prohibit <br />payments to counties or cities that do not join the Settlements. <br /> <br />5. What is the status of these cases? <br /> <br />All Minnesota city and county cases have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings into a <br />Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in federal court in Cleveland, Ohio. The opioid MDL has <br />roughly 3,000 lawsuits from nearly every state. The lawsuits allege that opioid <br />manufacturers misrepresented the risks associated with prescription opioids; that opioid <br />distributors did not properly monitor shipments of prescription opioids to pharmacies <br />across the country; and that these actions contributed to the opioid epidemic that continues <br />to ravage Minnesota and the rest of the country. Until the Settlements are finalized, these <br />cases will remain pending. <br /> <br />6. Has the State of Minnesota joined the Settlements? <br /> <br />Yes. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, together with the majority of state <br />Attorneys General across the country, has signed on to the Settlements. Those Attorneys <br />General, lawyers representing thousands of municipalities in the national opioid litigation, <br />and the Association of Minnesota Counties, League of Minnesota Cities, and the Coalition <br />of Greater Minnesota Cities strongly encourage cities and counties to join. Cities and <br />counties that join will be helping to bring additional abatement resources to communities <br />and families throughout the state for substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, <br />and recovery. <br /> <br />7. How much will Minnesota receive from the Settlements? <br /> <br />Minnesota is eligible to receive a maximum payment of approximately $296 million under <br />the Settlements with the Distributors and J&J. The settlement funds are allocated among <br />states based on population and the impact of the opioid crisis on each state, taking into <br />account several public health measures. The precise amount of settlement funds Minnesota <br />as a whole receives is highly dependent on the level of city and county participation and <br />the avoidance of penalties that would result from cities or counties filing new lawsuits. <br /> <br />8. What is the Minnesota Opioids State-Subdivision Memorandum of Agreement? <br /> <br />The MN MOA governs how Minnesota will distribute settlement funds from the <br />Settlements with Distributors and J&J. It also governs how opioid abatement funds from <br />the bankruptcy resolutions with Purdue Pharma and Mallinckrodt are distributed within <br />Minnesota. The Purdue Pharma and Mallinckrodt bankruptcies are not yet finalized, and