File #: O-349-21    Version: 1 Name:
Type: Ordinance Status: Approved
File created: 7/12/2021 In control: Law Department
On agenda: 7/13/2021 Final action: 7/13/2021
Title: Authorizing the Mayor and Law Director to vote on behalf of the City in favor of the bankruptcy plan of reorganization that has been negotiated in the Purdue Pharma litigation; to execute any related documents; and declaring an emergency.
Label
Dept. of Law

Title
Authorizing the Mayor and Law Director to vote on behalf of the City in favor of the bankruptcy plan of reorganization that has been negotiated in the Purdue Pharma litigation; to execute any related documents; and declaring an emergency.

Body
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
The City of Toledo has a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against various defendants in the pharmaceutical supply chain related to the devastating impact the opioid epidemic has had on the Toledo community. It is one of many lawsuits that have been filed by governmental entities throughout the country as well as other creditors.

Defendant Purdue Pharma filed bankruptcy in 2019 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. An agreement on a bankruptcy plan of reorganization has been reached with Purdue Pharma through lengthy negotiations conducted with company representatives, a plaintiffs' executive committee, state attorney generals, United States government, and other creditors.

Votes on the plan are due no later than July 14, 2021. This ordinance allows the Mayor and Law Director to vote in favor of the plan and to execute any related documents related to the pending litigation. The Bankruptcy Court will decide whether to approve the plan. It is not possible at this point to determine what the City of Toledo could receive due to the variables of the plan. The City of Toledo signed on last year to the One Ohio Memorandum of Understanding that provides for a statewide distribution formula designed to address the opioid crisis and its impact on our community and communities throughout the state. It is anticipated that the money from the plan, if approved by the Bankruptcy Court, would flow through the One Ohio process.

Summary
NOW, THEREFORE, Be it ordained by the Council of the City of Toledo:

SECTION 1. That the Mayor and Director of Law are authorized to vote on behalf of the City of Toledo to approve the bankru...

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