A complex $26 billion global deal reaches a critical juncture on Friday: Drug companies must decide whether to walk away from an agreement to provide funds to nearly all 50 states and U.S. territories to abate costs caused by the opioid crisis. A key factor in that decision is how many of the thousands of cities and counties within each state chose to participate.

Peter Mougey.

One of the team members, Peter Mougey, of Levin, Papantonio, Rafferty, Proctor, Buchanan, O’Brien, Barr & Mougey in Pensacola, Florida, said that more than 95% of local governments have opted to participate in what he called a “historic settlement.”