(ONN) – The nation’s three biggest drug distributors and a major drugmaker have agreed to a settlement with two Ohio counties in a massive lawsuit related to the opioid crisis.

Word of the 11th hour deal between four drug companies and Cuyahoga and Summit Counties emerged just as opening arguments were set to begin in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland.

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish on the settlement.

“People are suffering now, people are dying now. We have to deal with these issues now, so the fact that we were able to get the money in a short timeframe is very helpful, and that was the motivation for settling this.”

The settlement involves so-called ‘big-three’ distributors paying a combined $215 million to Cuyahoga and Summit Counties.