Attorneys working to settle litigation over a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak say they hope to finalize a tentative $100 million-plus deal and present it for court approval in the next two months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The New England pharmacy, which faces litigation related to the outbreak, last month tentatively agreed to create a fund to pay more than $100 million victims and their families. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 64 people have died and about 700 others have fallen ill as a result of the outbreak. “It’s the trustee’s goal to file a motion with the bankruptcy court to have those settlements approved in the next 30 days or so,” said Michael Gottfried, who is representing the pharmacy’s bankruptcy trustee, Paul Moore. “A hearing might be scheduled on that 30 days or so after he files the motion.” The pharmacy, New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc., filed for chapter 11 protection in December 2012 after the CDC identified it as the origin of the tainted steroid injections that caused the outbreak.
