Nevada AG's former employer could earn up to $350 million from opioid lawsuit
Attorney General Aaron Ford’s former law firm could earn up to $350 million through a potentially lucrative contract to represent the state in a massive lawsuit against the nation’s top opioid manufacturers and producers.
Ford’s office released details of the selection process and contract with his former employer, Eglet Prince, on Monday after announcing early in April that the firm had won the contract with the state. Ford, who previously announced that he would recuse himself from selection of an outside law firm, moved in January to obtain permission from state lawmakers for his office to seek outside counsel in the lawsuit, a break from former Attorney General Adam Laxalt who filed suit against Purdue Pharma in 2018.
The contract is based on contingent fees, an arrangement wherein the state will pay nothing up front but will owe a certain percentage of any damages received if the state prevails in the suit. The percentages in the contract are based on the amount of damages recovered and whether they are paid prior to or after discovery in any court proceeding. It sets maximum recoverable amounts by the firm in the following ranges:
* No more than $240 million if recovered damages are between $1 billion and $1.25 billion
* No more than $300 million if recovered damages are between $1.25 billion and $1.5 billion
* No more than $350 million if recovered damages are above $1.5 billion.
Over the past two years, Eglet Prince has entered into contracts with at least nine municipalities in the state to represent them in lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, but efforts to represent the state were rebuffed by Laxalt.
Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/ags-former-employer-could-earn-up-to-350-million-from-opioid-lawsuit