(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $40.5 million to settle New Hampshire’s claims over the company’s role in the opioid epidemic.
New Hampshire said the settlement averted a trial that had been scheduled to begin on Sept. 7 in Merrimack County Superior Court.
The state will apply $31.5 million toward opioid abatement, after paying legal fees, and Johnson & Johnson will be banned from selling or promoting opioids there.
Johnson & Johnson did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, and said it will defend against litigation that the settlement does not resolve.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jason Neely)
