Payment of Counsel and Litigation Expenses. 1. The Litigating Local Governments have incurred attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses relating to their prosecution of claims against the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Participants, and this prosecution has inured to the benefit of all Participating Local Governments. Accordingly, a Washington Government Fee Fund (“GFF”) shall be established that ensures that all Parties that receive Opioid Funds contribute to the payment of fees and expenses incurred to prosecute the claims against the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Participants, regardless of whether they are litigating or non-litigating entities.
2. The amount of the GFF shall be based as follows: the funds to be deposited in the GFF shall be equal to 15% of the total cash value of the Opioid Funds.
3. The maximum percentage of any contingency fee agreement permitted for compensation shall be 15% of the portion of the Opioid Funds allocated to the Litigating Local Government that is a party to the contingency fee agreement, plus expenses attributable to that Litigating Local Government. Under no circumstances may counsel collect more for its work on behalf of a Litigating Local Government than it would under its contingency agreement with that Litigating Local Government.
4. Payments from the GFF shall be overseen by a committee (the “Opioid Fee and Expense Committee”) consisting of one representative of the following law firms: (a) Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx L.LP.; (b) Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxx LLP; (c) Xxxxxxxx & Xxxx Xxxx Xxxxxx, PLLC; and (d) Napoli Xxxxxxxx PLLC. The role of the Opioid Fee and Expense Committee shall be limited to ensuring that the GFF is administered in accordance with this Section.
5. In the event that settling Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Participants do not pay the fees and expenses of the Participating Local Governments directly at the time settlement is achieved, payments to counsel for Participating Local Governments shall be made from the GFF over not more than three years, with 50% paid within 12 months of the date of Settlement and 25% paid in each subsequent year, or at the time the total Settlement amount is paid to the Trustee by the Defendants, whichever is sooner.
6. Any funds remaining in the GFF in excess of: (i) the amounts needed to cover Litigating Local Governments’ private counsel’s representation agreements, and (ii) the amounts needed to cover the common benefit tax discussed in Section C.8 below (if not paid directly by the Defendants in connection with future settlem...
Payment of Counsel and Litigation Expenses. 1. The Parties anticipate that any Settlement will provide for the payment of all or a portion of the fees and litigation expenses of certain state and local governments.
2. If the court in In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804 (N.D. Ohio) or if a Settlement establishes a common benefit fund or similar device to compensate attorneys for services rendered and expenses incurred that have benefited plaintiffs generally in the litigation (the “Common Benefit Fund”), and requires certain governmental plaintiffs to pay a share of their recoveries from defendants into the Common Benefit Fund as a “tax,” then the Participating Local Governments shall first seek to have the settling defendants pay the “tax.” If the settling defendants do not agree to pay the “tax,” then the “tax” shall be paid from the LG Share prior to allocation and distribution of funds to the Participating Local Governments.4 3 Population allocation of cities and towns within counties will be derived from the population data included in any national Settlement. If such data is not included in the respective national Settlement, then population allocation will be determined from those cities and towns listed in Exhibit C. The data in Exhibit C is derived from the U.S. Census Estimate (July 1, 2019). 4 This paragraph shall not apply to the Settlement with the Settling Distributors or the Settlement with J&J.
3. Any governmental entity that seeks attorneys’ fees and expenses from the Litigation shall seek those fees and expenses first from the national Settlement.5 In addition, the Parties agree that the Participating Local Governments will create a supplemental attorney’s fees and costs fund (the “Backstop Fund”).
4. In the event that any Settlement imposes additional limitations or obligations on the payment of counsel and litigation expenses, those limitations and obligations take precedence over this Agreement.
5. The Backstop Fund is to be used to compensate counsel for Participating Local Governments that filed opioid lawsuits by September 1, 2020 (“Litigating Participating Local Governments”). Payments out of the Backstop Fund shall be determined by a committee consisting of one representative from each of the Litigating Participating Local Governments (the “Opioid Fee and Expense Committee”).
6. The amount of the Backstop Fund shall be determined as follows: From any national Settlement, the funds in the Backstop Fund shall equal 14.25% of the LG Share for that Settl...
Payment of Counsel and Litigation Expenses. 1. Nothing in this Agreement shall supersede, modify, alter, or substitute any contingency fee agreements the State, Political Subdivisions, or Special Districts have with their respective outside counsel.
2. Attorneys’ fees in the amount of $11 million shall be paid to counsel for the Political Subdivisions and Special Districts in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Award. The attorneys’ fees will be paid by the Receiver to counsel for the Political Subdivisions and Special Districts pro rata based upon the allocations determined by the Special Master in accordance with Sections B.3 and B.4 herein. The Special Master will calculate attorneys’ fees owed to attorneys for each Political Subdivision and Special District and will provide those calculations to the Receiver. These payments will serve as an offset and not as a substitute for any attorneys’ fees owed pursuant to counsel agreements with Political Subdivisions or Special Districts.
3. The Special Master, any payment vendor contemplated by Section B.2. herein, and the State of Alabama and its outside counsel bear no responsibility or liability for any Political Subdivision’s counsel’s fee arrangements with referral attorneys, affiliated counsel, and the like.
Payment of Counsel and Litigation Expenses. 1. The Parties recognize that the Opioid-Related Settlements contemplated in this Agreement will likely result in the establishment of one or more National Funds for attorney’s fees and costs and the availability of these funds substantially increases the amount of Opioid Settlement Funds available for Approved Abatement Strategies in South Carolina.
