BALTIMORE — Mayor Brandon Scott confirmed Thursday that Baltimore City has accepted a slashed settlement amount in its litigation against opioid distributors McKesson and Cencora, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen.
A jury had awarded $266 million last fall which a judge later slashed to just a fraction calling it "excessive."
The City now adds $152.3 million to the funds it has earned in challenging Big Pharma companies over their role in the opioid epidemic and its impacts on Baltimore.
“From the beginning, this case has always been about securing justice for Baltimoreans who have been disproportionately impacted by the opioid crisis," Mayor Scott said." "Today’s decision is an affirmation of these companies’ liability, and the fulfillment of a promise kept to our residents.
In September 2024, Baltimore filed a lawsuit against several Big Pharma companies claiming they took part in "fraudulent and reckless marketing of opioids" disproportionately impacting the city during the epidemic.
READ MORE: Deadline soon for city to accept or reject slashed opioid settlement
Over the course of the legal battle, most of the cases were settled before even reaching trial, which put Baltimore's winnings in court against the distributors at north of $400 million.
With the announcement of Thursday's acceptance of the jury award, the city has now won a total of $579.8 million from opioid manufacturers and distributors.
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Following the judge's decision, the city was given a deadline of August 8 to either accept the settlement or go back to trial. They were then given an extension.
Mayor Scott said that although the award is lower than they jury initially awarded, this win means more to Baltimore as its the only successful judgments against either McKesson or Cencora.
“Generations of Baltimoreans have lost loved ones to substance use as a direct result of the opioids that Big Pharma pushed on our neighborhoods. While no amount of money can ever undo that harm, this award will help us expand our recovery programs, prevent future overdose deaths, and finally break the cycle of substance abuse in Baltimore, said Mayor Scott. “Though we disagree with aspects of the ruling, we appreciate the Court’s work. We thank the six members of the jury for carefully evaluating this case after weeks of testimony and holding these distributors accountable.”
The mayor also thanked the court and the six jury members who made the historic judgment possible despite their disagreement with the aspects of the ruling.
