VICTOR JOECKS: Ford flouts records law on opioid documents

Attorney General Aaron Ford is Nevada’s top law enforcement officer. Yet his office is making a mockery of Nevada’s public records law.

In July 2023, I submitted a public records request for documents about Nevada’s opioid litigation settlements. I made the request shortly after Ford announced that the state had reached a deal with the final defendant in those cases. He bragged that his office brought in more than $1.1 billion in settlements.

But not all of that money will go to help those who struggle with addiction. After taking office, Ford decided to bring in outside counsel for these cases. He ended up hiring his old law firm, Eglet Prince. The contract Ford signed in 2019 stated that if Nevada recovered between $1 billion and $1.25 billion, “Special Contractor’s contingent fee shall be and shall not exceed $240 million.”

Yes, you read that right. Ford hired his old law firm, and evidence suggests it’ll rake in $240 million.

It gets worse. In 2015, Ford, who was in the state Senate, owed $185,000 in back taxes, interest and penalties. During the 2015 legislative session, Republican legislative majorities passed a law capping outside legal fees for a private law firm at $10 million. You’ll notice $10 million is a lot less than $240 million.

That same year, Eglet Prince brought on Ford as a partner.

By early 2016, Ford had come up with the money to settle his IRS debts. In 2017, Ford was Senate majority leader. On the last day of session, Ford helped pass an amendment that eliminated the $10 million cap, replacing it with a 25 percent limit.

After that session, Robert Eglet, the namesake of Ford’s law firm, met with then-Attorney General Adam Laxalt. He wanted Laxalt to hire his firm to sue opioid companies. Laxalt didn’t. But in 2018, Ford won election as attorney general. Unsurprisingly, Ford soon announced that the state would hire outside counsel for the opioid litigation.

Ford did remove himself from the process of selecting that law firm. But the three people on the selection committee who worked in his office gave Eglet Prince the highest score. Three of the four people on the panel from outside his office would have selected another firm.

Presumably, the lawyers involved were intelligent enough not to formally commit a crime. But the process carries an unmistakable stench.

Last July, Ford claimed that the state recovered more money because of his decision to hire outside counsel. Perhaps. But Nevada did join some multistate settlements.

To find out if Ford’s claim held up, I asked for documents showing every opioid settlement and how the money will be spent, including the cost of outside counsel.

Even though I submitted the records request it in July 2023, I’m still waiting. Every few weeks, I’ll get an email saying the records are expected by such and such. Then I’ll get another email pushing the date forward. Currently, the fake response date is Sept. 6.

A spokeswoman for Ford’s office said a website with opioid settlement information is coming soon. She also said information on the spending may have to come from another agency. The response is appreciated, but it doesn’t excuse or explain the delay.

I would ask what Ford is hiding. But in this case, it doesn’t appear hard to guess.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.