McKinsey Opioid Epidemic Tribal Settlement Announced

Dedicated $39.5 million portion of proposed national $269.5 million McKinsey opioids settlement will go to Native American Tribes

Global management and consulting company McKinsey & Co. describes itself as “the trusted advisor to the world’s leading businesses, governments, and institutions.” The company was sued in the wake of the national opioids harm litigation for its allegedly integral role in creating and deepening the opioid crisis, including working closely with the major opioid manufacturers, such as Purdue Pharmaceutical, to promote, market, and sell opioids, despite knowing the risks associated with over-prescribing these controlled substances.

In January of 2018, Lieff Cabraser founding partner Elizabeth Cabraser was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee and Settlement Negotiating Committee in the National Prescription Opiates MDL, and was subsequently appointed Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel in the McKinsey & Co. National Prescription Opiate MDL. The McKinsey cases were assigned to Judge Charles R. Breyer for coordinated discovery and pretrial matters. In October 2022, the Court denied McKinsey’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs from 19 states. In September of 2023, McKinsey agreed to pay $269.5 million to resolve the litigation, including $39.5 million designated for participating federally-recognized Native American Tribes.

According to the proposed settlement, the Tribal payment is open to all 574 federally recognized Tribes, whether or not a Tribe has filed litigation against McKinsey, just as is the case with earlier nationwide tribal opioid settlements. Settlement funds will be allocated among Tribes using the inter-tribal plan of allocation approved and adopted in the related Purdue (Opioid) Bankruptcy. This is the same allocation used to allocate most of the earlier nationwide tribal opioid settlements. The settlement will become effective 30 days after McKinsey concludes that a sufficient number of Tribes have agreed to the settlement by signing a Tribal Participation Form.

In order to participate, a Tribe must sign and submit a Tribal Participation Form through a secure portal that can be accessed through the website https://mckinseytribalsettlement.com. Tribes can also fax, email, or mail their Participation form; full instructions are available on the Tribal Participation website.