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Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures $83 Million Settlement for Texas, Holding Kroger Accountable for Role in Opioid Epidemic
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an $83 million statewide opioid settlement with Kroger to resolve claims by the State of Texas and its Political Subdivisions for practices that contributed to the opioid epidemic in Texas.
The settlement is the latest in a series of agreements Attorney General Paxton has negotiated to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for worsening the national trend of overdoses and deaths from prescription opioids. To date, Attorney General Paxton has obtained over $3 billion in legal settlements with drug manufacturers and other entities for their roles in the national opioid epidemic. Funds from statewide opioid settlements are dedicated to opioid abatement and overseen by the Texas Opioid Council.
Affected Political Subdivisions in Texas—such as local governments and county governments in the Texas Opioids Multidistrict Litigation—are encouraged to sign on to the settlement to ensure that Texas citizens and entities may receive all benefits and opioid remediation funds to which they are entitled. To sign on to the settlement, Subdivisions may visit the OAG’s website here for more information.
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 on to and receive benefits from the settlement is December 29, 2024.
“We’ve worked relentlessly to hold major pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies accountable for their role in the national opioid epidemic that has created so much suffering in our State,” said Attorney General Paxton. “This settlement is an important step in our ongoing efforts to securing justice for Texas.”
To read the settlement, click here.
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