Granby and other towns in Grand County will receive notice of a class action lawsuit against opioid makers and distributors sometime this week.
Town attorney Nathan Krob said during the Granby town board meeting Tuesday night that the town would receive notice of this lawsuit soon and be given the option to opt out.
Unlike previous mass litigation, thousands of cities and counties are grouping together as plaintiffs to pursue claims against a group of pharmaceutical companies involved with opioids.
The town has the option to opt out of this litigation, but Krob recommended Granby do nothing, which would include Granby in the lawsuit by default.
Being a part of the plaintiffs would not cost the town anything, as representation will be on a contingency basis. Pursuing the town’s own lawsuit against the pharmaceutical companies would be extremely expensive and almost impossible, according to Krob.
This could lead to possible payout for the county. The litigation has a formula that determines how much each county in the lawsuit will be paid based on the impact of the opioid epidemic there.
While Grand County did not see as much impact from the opioid epidemic as other counties, the county would see a payout of $22,366 per $1 billion gross settlement for the counties and cities.
This payout would go to the institute responsible for mental health, which would likely be the county.
Grand County also has the option to opt out of the litigation, which County Manager Kate McIntire said Grand plans to do at this time.
The other towns in Grand County will be opted into the litigation unless they move to opt out. The deadline for opting out is Nov. 22.
Many believe the payout from this suit will rival the tobacco settlement of 1998. However, the intention of the litigation group is to avoid the mistakes made in that agreement by ensuring the funds from this payout go directly toward treating the opioid crisis.