National Roundup

West Virginia
Local governments to start seeing opioid settlement money this year
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Local governments in West Virginia will start seeing opioid settlement money by the year’s end, the board in charge of distributing the lion’s share of around $1 billion in funds announced Monday.

Around $73.5 million will be deployed to municipalities and counties this calendar year in the state most hard-hit by the opioid epidemic, according to Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Harvey, who was elected chair of the West Virginia First Foundation at the board’s first meeting at the Truist building in Charleston.

Local governments will have the final say on how to spend the funds, which represent part of around $300 million in initial payments from opioid distributors following years of court battles. The nonprofit foundation is receiving it’s first $217.5 million allocation this year and its board of representatives will decide how to spend it. Around $9 million will go into trust.

All funds must be used to abate the opioid crisis through efforts such as evidence-based addiction treatment, recovery and prevention programs, or supporting law enforcement efforts to curtail distribution.

“We want to restore families,” Harvey said at a news conference at the state Capitol. “We’re so hopeful that we actually have the tools to fight back.”

Officials from 55 West Virginia counties signed on to a memorandum of understanding that allows money to be funneled through the West Virginia First Foundation and dictates how it can be spent. The state Legislature and Gov. Jim Justice gave it the green light earlier this year.

According to the agreement, the foundation will distribute just under three-quarters of the settlement money. Around a quarter will go directly to local communities and 3% will remain in trust.

The state is receiving money from each of its settlement agreements on a staggered schedule, with annual payments coming until at least 2036. The private foundation alone is expected to receive around $367 million over the next five years.

Five members of the foundation’s board were appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Six board members were elected by local governments.

The 11-member board met for the first time Monday, where they made introductions, opened a bank account for the funds, which have been held in escrow by Huntington Bank. Harvey was voted chair and state Health Officer Matt Christiansen was voted vice chair. Former Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Jeff Sandy — a certified fraud examiner and anti-money laundering specialist — will serve as treasurer.

Over the past four years, drug manufacturers, distribution companies, pharmacies and other companies with roles in the opioid business have reached settlements totaling more than $50 billion with governments.

While the biggest amounts are in nationwide settlements, West Virginia has been aggressive in bringing its own lawsuits and reaching more than a dozen settlements.

In May, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced that the state had settled with Kroger for $68 million for its role in distributing prescription painkillers.

Kroger was the last remaining defendant in a lawsuit involving Walgreens, Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid: Walgreens settled for $83 million; Walmart settled for more than $65 million; CVS settled for $82.5 million; and Rite Aid settled for up to $30 million.
The lawsuits alleged the pharmacies’ contribution to the oversupply of prescription opioids caused “significant losses through their past and ongoing medical treatment costs, including for minors born addicted to opioids, rehabilitation costs, naloxone costs, medical examiner expenses, self-funded state insurance costs and other forms of losses to address opioid-related afflictions and loss of lives.”


New York
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sued by book publisher for breach of contract
NEW YORK (AP) — Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is being sued by his publisher for contradicting his book’s claim about the 2020 election.

All Seasons Press alleges that sworn testimony by Meadows undermined “The Chief’s Chief,” in which he wrote that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

In a breach of contract lawsuit filed Friday in Florida, All Seasons cited media reports from last month alleging that Meadows knew Trump had lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

“Meadows’ reported statements to the Special Prosecutor and/or his staff and his reported grand jury testimony squarely contradict the statements” in “The Chief’s Chief,” according to the lawsuit, filed in Sarasota, Florida. A central theme of Meadows’ book is that “President Trump was the true winner of the 2020 Presidential Election and that election was ‘stolen’ and ‘rigged’ with the help from ‘allies in the liberal media,’” the court papers read in part.

Meadows’ attorney, George Terwilliger, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

All Seasons is alleging that Meadows damaged sales and the publisher’s reputation. All Seasons, a conservative press founded in 2021, is seeking the return of Meadows’ $350,000 advance and damages of more than $1 million.

“The Chief’s Chief” has sold around 23,000 copies, according to Circana, which tracks around 85% of the print market. Most of those sales came in 2021, when the book came out. All Seasons says it sold approximately 60,000 copies out of a printing of 200,000.

Special counsel Jack Smith has been investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters trying to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. Last month, ABC News reported that Meadows had been granted immunity by Smith and had testified that voter fraud allegations were baseless and that he knew Trump hadn’t won.

“If such media reports are accurate, Meadows testified under oath that his book contains known falsehoods,” All Seasons alleged in its breach of contract suit.

The All Seasons case is unusual both because it’s based on media reports, not direct knowledge of Meadows’ testimony, and because it’s based on alleged factual errors. Publishers rarely fact check manuscripts, relying instead on the authors to verify what they’ve written, and are far more likely to object to a book because of plagiarism or the author’s personal conduct.

Meadows has pleaded not guilty to charges in Georgia for trying to overturn the state’s election results in 2020. In September, a judge denied his request to have the case moved to federal court.