Endo to Pay $35 Million to Settle Opioid Lawsuits in Tennessee

Endo International has agreed in principle to pay a settlement of $35 million in a Tennessee lawsuit related to alleged abuse of its opioid drugs.

The proposed settlement would be between Endo International’s wholly owned subsidiaries Endo Health Solutions, Endo Pharmaceuticals and nine counties in eastern Tennessee; 18 cities and towns within those counties; and one individual plaintiff.

The Circuit Court for Sullivan County, Tenn., entered a default judgment on liability “as a sanction for alleged discovery improprieties,” Endo International said. That means the company had already been found liable, with only the damages to be decided at a trial that was scheduled to begin on July 26.

The trial has now been postponed until Aug. 4 to give the plaintiffs time to decide whether to accept the settlement in place of the $2.4 billion they were expected to demand.