Judge rejects Purdue Pharma’s opioid settlement that would protect the Sackler family – By The Associated Press (NPR) / December 16, 2021
A judge has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement of thousands of lawsuits over the opioid epidemic because of a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from facing litigation of their own.
In a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in New York found that federal bankruptcy law does not give the bankruptcy judge who had accepted the plan the authority to grant that kind of release for people who are not declaring bankruptcy themselves.
The ruling is likely to be appealed by the company, family members and the thousands of government entities that support the plan.
A Purdue spokesperson said Thursday evening that the company was preparing a statement. Representatives of the two branches of the family who own the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
