Friday, the Kentucky Court of Appeals issued a unanimous ruling in favor of government transparency.
Steve Pitt, general counsel to Gov. Matt Bevin, issued the following statement:
“The Bevin Administration is pleased with the Court of Appeals’ unanimous ruling today that there must be discovery about why Attorneys General Andy Beshear and Jack Conway settled a case against one of the largest opioid companies in the country for pennies on the dollar. As the Court of Appeals noted, this case was originally valued at $1 billion but was hurriedly settled for only $24 million just as Conway was leaving office and Andy Beshear was coming in.
“This ruling will allow the public to see whether Beshear and Conway entered this low-ball settlement to get Beshear’s law firm off the hook on a devastating legal-malpractice claim and to pad the pockets of the law firm that Conway later joined as a named partner to the tune of $4.2 million. This is the second time in two months that the Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled against Andy Beshear in his quest to keep the specifics of this settlement secret. The Court of Appeals appropriately realizes that the people of Kentucky deserve to know the truth despite Andy Beshear’s efforts to sweep it under the rug.”
