KRS § 15.295 — KY Code / Title III / Chapter 15 / Section 15.295
15.295 Local government fee fund
Status: in_force

15.295 Local government fee fund.

(1) There is hereby established a supplemental attorney fees fund to be used to

compensate private attorneys to be known as the local government fee fund.

These funds shall be maintained and administered by Wilmington Trust, N.A.,

which was appointed the Directed Trustee of the settlement administration of

the National Opioid Settlement.

(2) The local government fee fund shall consist of moneys received from any

national settlement included in KRS 15.293 or related to opioid manufacturing

or distribution. Moneys deposited in the fund shall be a percentage of the

collective local government share in Kentucky provided by KRS 15.293(4), that

when added to the percentage awarded to attorneys from the national

contingency fee fund established by court order in In re National Prescription

Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804, Case No. 1:17-md-02804, in the United

States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, shall not exceed fifteen

percent (15) in aggregate. No portion of the state share as provided in KRS

15.293(3) shall be used for the local government fee fund or in any other way

to fund any participating local government's attorney's fees and costs.

(3) (a) The amounts deposited into the fund shall be used to compensate

counsel for counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county

governments, and cities of the Commonwealth that filed an opioid lawsuit

on or before June 1, 2021.

(b) Allocation of payments out of the fund shall be determined by a

mathematical model to calculate allocation of payments to counsel from

the local government fee fund, which shall be based on the share of each

county, consolidated local government, urban-county government, and

city of the Commonwealth and shall be determined by the negotiation

class metrics and the rate set forth in their contingency contracts, which

shall be provided by counsel for a litigating participating local government,

in order for counsel to be eligible to receive payments from the local

government fee fund.

(c) Counsel shall not collect more for its work on behalf of a county,

consolidated local government, urban-county government, or city of the

Commonwealth from the national contingency fee fund or the local

government fee fund than fifteen percent (15) of the aggregate of the

collective local government fee fund and the national contingency fee

fund as established in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL

No. 2804, Case No. 1:17-md-02804, in the United States District Court for

the Northern District of Ohio. In order to collect from the local government

fee fund, counsel must also first apply to the national contingency fee

fund.

(4) No less than eighty-five percent (85) of the proceeds received by each

county, consolidated local government, urban-county government, or city of the

Commonwealth shall go toward abatement of the opioid epidemic in those

communities.

(5) The amount and timing for the payments to counsel from the local government

fee fund shall be consistent with the percentages and timing set forth in Exhibit

R, Section II. A. 1. of the Distributor Settlement Agreement and Exhibit R,

Section II. A. 1. of the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) Settlement Agreement.

With respect to any future settlements, payments to the local government fee

fund shall be consistent with the attorney's fee and cost schedules set forth in

any future settlement agreements.

(6) Any funds remaining in the local government fee fund in excess of the amounts

needed to cover private counsels' representation agreements consistent with

the terms established in this section shall revert to the participating local

governments to be reallocated using the same Negotiation Class Metrics and

used for approved purposes as set forth herein and in KRS 15.293. Any

interest earnings of the fund shall become a part of the fund and shall not

lapse.