Intertribal Allocation

As part of the Purdue restructuring plan initially approved in September 2021, the Purdue bankruptcy court approved an inter-tribal allocation matrix, which focuses on allocating funds according to the relative harm suffered. The allocation was developed by experts and lawyers for the Tribes, and was also reviewed and approved by former federal Judge Layn Phillips, who served as a court-appointed mediator in connection with the bankruptcy proceeding. Click here for the Purdue Allocation. That same allocation was subsequently adopted as part of the Mallinckrodt restructuring plan, which was approved by Mallinckrodt bankruptcy court and has gone into effect. Therefore, tribal abatement funds from the Mallinckrodt and Purdue bankruptcies—if the Purdue restructuring plan goes into effect—will be governed by the Purdue Allocation.

Ohio federal district court Judge Dan A. Polster, who oversees the National Prescription Opiate Multi-District Litigation (MDL), appointed former federal Judge Layn Phillips and Special Master David Cohen to set procedures and then to jointly develop a final settlement allocation that will govern the distribution of abatement funds from the J&J, Distributor, Teva and Allergan, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens tribal settlements. The settlements themselves require that the allocation procedures grant all participating Tribes the right to meaningfully participate in the final allocation process. They also provide that unrepresented tribes have the same rights in the allocation process as represented Tribes.

To implement these requirements, throughout the fall of 2022 Judge Phillips and Master Cohen solicited comments from Tribes and from Alaska and California Tribal health organizations on an inter-tribal allocation to be used for the tribal settlements. As part of that process, Judge Phillips and Mr. Cohen invited comments on whether and how the Purdue Allocation should be modified for purposes of allocating abatement funds. The comment period closed on December 5, 2022, and Judge Phillips and Master Cohen are now in the process of determining the final settlement allocation. The final allocation will be posted here once it becomes available.