Sooner Politics.org
  • Front Page
  • Oklahoma News
    • Oklahoma Reports
    • OCPAC
    • Oklahoma Constitution News
    • Citizen of the Year
    • Oklahoma History
    • Today, In History
    • Oklahoma Center Square
    • Faked Out Sports
    • AP Wire
    • NewsBreak Oklahoma
    • Inside the Capitol
    • Lawton Rocks
    • Muskogee Now
    • OSU Sports
  • Podcasts
  • SPTV
    • Fresh Black Coffee, with Eddie Huff
    • AircraftSparky
    • Red River TV
    • Oklahoma TV
    • E PLURIBUS OTAP
    • Tapp's Common Sense
  • Editorial
    • From the Editor
    • Weekend Report
    • 3D Politics
    • Reagan Speaks
  • Sooner Issues
    • Corruption Chronicle
    • Constitutional Grounds
    • State Groups
  • Sooner Analysts
    • OCPA
    • Muskogee Politico
    • Rooke Report
    • SoonerPoll
    • Everett Piper
    • Andrew Spiropoulos
    • Tulsa Devil's Advocate
    • Eddie Huff & Friends
    • 1889 Institute
    • Steve Byas
    • Michael Bates
    • Steve Fair
    • Josh Lewis
    • Tulsa Today
    • OK2A
    • Dr. Jim Meehan
    • AFP Oklahoma
    • Sooner Tea Party
  • Nation
    • Bongino Report
    • Breitbart News
    • Daily wire
    • Steven Crowder
    • InfoWars News
    • Jeff Davis
    • Alex Lains
    • The F1rst
    • Nigel Farage
    • NewsMax
    • America's Voice
    • Ron Paul Institute
    • Bill Gertz
    • Emerald
    • Just the News
    • Trey Gowdy
    • Fox Politics
    • National Commentary
  • Wit & Whimsy
    • Libs of Tiktok
    • It's Still The Law
    • Terrence Williams
    • Witty Cartoons
    • Will Rogers Said
    • Steeple Chasers
    • The Partisan
    • Satire
  • SoonerPolitics.org

Purdue Opioid Settlement Worked Out For Oklahoma

10/11/2019

Comments

 

 The check cleared the bank months before Purdue filed bankruptcy. 

  Last night I visited briefly with Dr Jason Beaman of OSU Medical College. Beeman was & is instrumental in AG Mike Hunter's crusade against pharmaceutical corporations. He offered some insights on the special settlement deal made between our state AG's office & Purdue Pharmaceutical.
  Last winter, AG Mike Hunter announced that Purdue settled out of court  with his legal team. According to the terms, Purdue claimed no culpability in any of the charges, but agreed to charitably fund a drug rehab program in Oklahoma. According to the terms, Purdue is a benefactor in a new drug rehab program created & run by the OSU Tulsa Medical School & Regional Hospital, in Tulsa. The one-time lump sum funding that Purdue agreed to amounted to $270 million dollars.
  ​  So, last night I asked Beeman a few questions about his civic involvement. He said that he often is called to testify in lawsuits. He did agree to help the AG's office in the lawsuits involving Purdue and the landmark ruling against Johnson & Johnson.  The latter case involved massive damages awarded to the state, but that case will be tied up in appeals and may drag out for years.
Picture

PictureDr. Jason Beaman is both a medical school professor, and a leading activist in the state, on various medical issues.
  The Purdue case never did go to court litigation. Instead, Hunter & his legal team  chose to negotiate an out-of-court settlement. Hunter faced strong criticism for his actions in essentially usurping the authority of the legislature & the governor.  A bill was filed soon after the news broke, to keep the AG from acting in this manner again. Politicians weigh many factors in determining when & where appropriated funds will be spent. Often these decisions include political pay-backs and other less honorable influences.
  While the legislature & governor were correct in the principle they asserted, the pragmatic result actually benefited the state to the tune of $300 million, when you consider the litigation costs which were averted.
  The Sackler family (principal owners of Purdue Pharma) diverted billions to Swiss banks prior to filing bankruptcy, this summer. Now, nearly every state & the federal govt. is fighting the bankruptcy and will be forced to share whatever funds can be recovered. Oklahoma is now the subject of nationwide jealousy, because of the lucky outcome from Hunter's bold, albeit controversial, decision to take the deal. One news source says Purdue has 2600 legal suits filed against them.  Today, a judge suspended all litigation against Purdue, hoping that a settlement will soon be reached.
  The other factor is, according to Beaman; that Purdue was not willing to give the settlement money to the state, directly. Even though Hunter acts like Purdue admitted to their guilt, that's definitely not how Purdue spins it. Purdue was still trying to claim innocence in multiple state lawsuits. Had they cut a check directly to the state of Oklahoma, they feared it would create the appearance of "just paying the citation instead of fighting it in court". Sorta like when a person gets a speeding ticket which they dispute on principle, but know it would cost more to fight it than just pay the ticket instead of taking several days off work for court appearances.
  • For Purdue, this was a chance to get free of their first of these kinds of lawsuits and look like a generous corporate citizen. 
  • For OSU, this was a chance to parlay activism into a new addition to their campus and increase their role in Oklahoma's public health narrative.
  • For AG Hunter, it's a way to strengthen his image and shake off an electoral challenge like the brutal challenge he had just last year.
  • For other players on this Opioid crusade of Hunters, there are several other payoffs in it for them, as well. But we'll save those stories for another day.

Comments

    Sooner Politics
      Editorial  

    Picture
    David Van Risseghem reports the events and adds some perspective. 


    Search Our Archives.

    Get A Daily News Email

    * indicates required

    Get new posts by email:


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    August 2015
    January 2015


    Subscribe in a reader
    ​We recently moved our blog. Our archives are still partially stored at our old site. 

    Author

    David Van Risseghem  is the Publisher of SoonerPolitics.org. The resource is committed to informing & mobilizing conservative Oklahomans for civic reform.  This endeavor seeks to utilize the efforts of all cooperative facets of the Conservative movement...

    ​"No politician 'checks off every box" in your list of issues. You have to prioritize and use personal discretion regarding every current and future issue that you can imagine. Then you have to also judge integrity & consistency. A candidate's openness to study the issues & courage to think for themselves. Then you need to review their honesty & work ethic.  I respect any voter's decision, when they've informed themselves and took voting seriously." - David Van Risseghem
​FRONT PAGE •  OKLAHOMA NEWS • EDITORIAL • SOONER ISSUES •​ STATE GROUPS •​ SOONER ANALYSTS •​ LAWMAKER'S JOURNAL •​ NATION •​ NATIONAL COMMENTARY •​ CARTOONS •​ ​
Picture

918 . 928 . 7776

 SoonerPolitics.org is committed to informing & mobilizing conservative Oklahomans for civic reform & restored liberty. We seeks to utilize the efforts of all cooperative facets of the Conservative movement... Content of the diverse columns are solely at the discretion of the dozens of websites who create the content.   David Van Risseghem  is the founder of this platform.
 Sooner Politics News is a platform, not a media site. All our bloggers get their feeds promoted regardless of content. As soon as We suppress or delete even one posting, we become an endorser of whatever We didn't censor..The publisher doesn't (and could not) logically agree with all the content, so we would not expect any rational reader to agree, either. What we do hope, is that readers will think for themselves, and at least be better informed of the issues, events, and values that our citizen journalists work hard to provide for free.. We automate much of the tasks so that our sources' content gets as much exposure as possible. We encourage constructive discussion & debate. The solution is more free speech, not less.​

  • Front Page
  • Oklahoma News
    • Oklahoma Reports
    • OCPAC
    • Oklahoma Constitution News
    • Citizen of the Year
    • Oklahoma History
    • Today, In History
    • Oklahoma Center Square
    • Faked Out Sports
    • AP Wire
    • NewsBreak Oklahoma
    • Inside the Capitol
    • Lawton Rocks
    • Muskogee Now
    • OSU Sports
  • Podcasts
  • SPTV
    • Fresh Black Coffee, with Eddie Huff
    • AircraftSparky
    • Red River TV
    • Oklahoma TV
    • E PLURIBUS OTAP
    • Tapp's Common Sense
  • Editorial
    • From the Editor
    • Weekend Report
    • 3D Politics
    • Reagan Speaks
  • Sooner Issues
    • Corruption Chronicle
    • Constitutional Grounds
    • State Groups
  • Sooner Analysts
    • OCPA
    • Muskogee Politico
    • Rooke Report
    • SoonerPoll
    • Everett Piper
    • Andrew Spiropoulos
    • Tulsa Devil's Advocate
    • Eddie Huff & Friends
    • 1889 Institute
    • Steve Byas
    • Michael Bates
    • Steve Fair
    • Josh Lewis
    • Tulsa Today
    • OK2A
    • Dr. Jim Meehan
    • AFP Oklahoma
    • Sooner Tea Party
  • Nation
    • Bongino Report
    • Breitbart News
    • Daily wire
    • Steven Crowder
    • InfoWars News
    • Jeff Davis
    • Alex Lains
    • The F1rst
    • Nigel Farage
    • NewsMax
    • America's Voice
    • Ron Paul Institute
    • Bill Gertz
    • Emerald
    • Just the News
    • Trey Gowdy
    • Fox Politics
    • National Commentary
  • Wit & Whimsy
    • Libs of Tiktok
    • It's Still The Law
    • Terrence Williams
    • Witty Cartoons
    • Will Rogers Said
    • Steeple Chasers
    • The Partisan
    • Satire
  • SoonerPolitics.org