OKLAHOMA CITY — A judge in Oklahoma has signed off on the state's $85 million settlement with Israeli-based Teva Pharmaceuticals following a squabble between the attorney general and the Legislature and governor over how the deal was structured.
Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman said Monday he signed the agreement calling for the funds to be used to help abate the state's opioid crisis.
Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders had sought to intervene in the case, arguing the deal didn't comply with a new state law directing any settlement proceeds into the state treasury. The law was passed last month after lawmakers openly grumbled about how Attorney General Mike Hunter structured the state's $270 million settlement with Purdue Pharmaceuticals.
Oklahoma's public nuisance lawsuit against consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson is continuing.
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