{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-15.295","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 15.295","heading":"Local government  fee fund.","body":"(1) There is hereby established a supplemental attorney fees fund to be used to\ncompensate  private attorneys to be known as the local government fee fund.\nThese  funds shall be maintained and administered by Wilmington Trust, N.A.,\nwhich was appointed the Directed Trustee of the settlement administration of\nthe National Opioid Settlement.\n(2) The  local government fee fund shall consist of moneys  received from any\nnational settlement included in KRS  15.293 or related to opioid manufacturing\nor distribution. Moneys  deposited in the fund shall be a percentage of the\ncollective local government share in Kentucky provided by KRS  15.293(4), that\nwhen  added  to the percentage awarded  to attorneys from the national\ncontingency fee fund established by court order in In re National Prescription\nOpiate Litigation, MDL  No. 2804, Case  No. 1:17-md-02804, in the United\nStates District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, shall not exceed fifteen\npercent (15%) in aggregate. No portion of the state share as provided in KRS\n15.293(3) shall be used for the local government fee fund or in any other way\nto fund any participating local government's attorney's fees and costs.\n(3) (a) The  amounts  deposited into the fund shall be used to compensate\ncounsel  for counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county\ngovernments, and cities of the Commonwealth  that filed an opioid lawsuit\non or before June 1, 2021.\n(b) Allocation of payments  out of the fund shall be determined by a\nmathematical model to calculate allocation of payments to counsel from\nthe local government fee fund, which shall be based on the share of each\ncounty, consolidated local government, urban-county government, and\ncity of the Commonwealth  and shall be determined by the negotiation\nclass metrics and the rate set forth in their contingency contracts, which\nshall be provided by counsel for a litigating participating local government,\nin order for counsel to be eligible to receive payments from the local\ngovernment fee fund.\n(c) Counsel  shall not collect more  for its work on behalf of a county,\nconsolidated local government, urban-county government, or city of the\nCommonwealth  from the national contingency fee fund or the local\ngovernment fee fund than fifteen percent (15%) of the aggregate of the\ncollective local government fee fund and the national contingency fee\nfund as established in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL\nNo. 2804, Case No. 1:17-md-02804, in the United States District Court for\nthe Northern District of Ohio. In order to collect from the local government\nfee fund, counsel must also first apply to the national contingency fee\nfund.\n(4) No  less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the proceeds received by each\ncounty, consolidated local government, urban-county government, or city of the\nCommonwealth  shall go toward abatement of the opioid epidemic in those\ncommunities.\n(5) The amount and timing for the payments to counsel from the local government\nfee fund shall be consistent with the percentages and timing set forth in Exhibit\nR, Section II. A. 1. of the Distributor Settlement Agreement and Exhibit R,\nSection II. A. 1. of the Janssen (Johnson \u0026 Johnson) Settlement Agreement.\nWith respect to any future settlements, payments to the local government fee\nfund shall be consistent with the attorney's fee and cost schedules set forth in\nany future settlement agreements.\n(6) Any funds remaining in the local government fee fund in excess of the amounts\nneeded  to cover private counsels' representation agreements consistent with\nthe terms established in this section shall revert to the participating local\ngovernments to be reallocated using the same Negotiation Class Metrics and\nused  for approved purposes as set forth herein and in KRS  15.293. Any\ninterest earnings of the fund shall become  a part of the fund and shall not\nlapse.","path":["KRS Chapter 15"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52302","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:33Z","sha256":"3d4e710567ff4a32fa51c892c325221c1f9c6ea2688ba22713c7b9ffed67fd25","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-15.293","next":"us-ky/krs-15.300"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}