Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
After Bankruptcy Filing, Purdue Pharma May Not Be off Hook
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
September 16, 2019

Share

Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy in the first step in a complex, multibillion-dollar plan by the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of lawsuits brought against it by state and local governments over the nation’s deadly opioid disaster.

About half the states and lawyers representing at least 1,000 local governments have agreed to the tentative settlement, which the company says could be worth $10 billion to $12 billion over time and would include at least $3 billion from the Sacklers.
The company and members of the Sackler family, which owns it, expressed sympathy but not responsibility.
“Like families across America, we have deep compassion for the victims of the opioid crisis,” family members said in a statement, calling the settlement plan a “historic step towards providing critical resources that address a tragic public health situation.”
But the bankruptcy filing, made late Sunday, may not get either the drugmaker or the Sacklers off the legal hook.
About half the states and lawyers representing at least 1,000 local governments have agreed to the tentative settlement, which the company says could be worth $10 billion to $12 billion over time and would include at least $3 billion from the Sacklers.
Under the settlement, the family would give up control of the company, and Purdue Pharma would be transformed into a sort of hybrid between a corporation and a charity. It would continue to sell opioids but its profits would be devoted to cleaning up the opioid mess and reimbursing state and local governments for the cost of the crisis that has killed more than 400,000 Americans in the past two decades.

The Company Is Facing Some 2,600 Lawsuits

But a number of the other states that are holding out have made it clear that they intend to object to the deal in bankruptcy court and seek to continue their lawsuits against members of the Sackler family.
“At every turn, we will fight their craven strategy to use bankruptcy to shield their wealth & to evade our claims to secure billions of dollars for addiction science & treatment,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong tweeted Monday.
In all, the company is facing some 2,600 lawsuits, mostly from local governments.
It will be up to federal bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, to decide whether to approve the settlement, and also whether those state lawsuits can continue. A court hearing on the bankruptcy plan is expected Tuesday.
For Purdue and the Sacklers, the effort revolves around getting more states to agree to the settlement, which could make approval more likely.
“We are hopeful that in time, those parties who are not yet supportive will ultimately shift their focus to the critical resources that the settlement provides to people and problems that need them,” the families of late company owners Mortimer and Raymond Sackler said in their statement.
The Sacklers were listed by Forbes magazine in 2016 as one of the 20 wealthiest families in the U.S. In a court filing last week, the New York attorney general’s office contended that the family had transferred $1 billion to itself through Swiss bank accounts and other means.

A Small Fraction of Prescription Opioids Shipped Over the Years

As some states agreed to the deal last week, others complained that it didn’t hold the family or company sufficiently accountable for their roles in the crisis.
In court filings, the family and the company have pushed back against accusations that the company played a central role in causing the crisis by overselling the benefits of its powerful prescription painkillers and downplaying the addiction risk.

“The resumption of litigation would rapidly diminish all the resources of the company and would be lose-lose-lose all the way around.” — Steve Miller, chairman of Purdue’s board of directors
The company’s drugs represent a small fraction of the prescription opioids shipped over the years — and most fatal overdoses have been linked to illegal opioids such as heroin and illicitly made fentanyl.
Steve Miller, chairman of Purdue’s board of directors, said on a conference call with reporters that an admission of wrongdoing is not part of the deal.
He warned that as legal battles drag on, the company’s costs grow, leaving less for the plaintiffs in lawsuits.
“The resumption of litigation would rapidly diminish all the resources of the company and would be lose-lose-lose all the way around,” he said.
One likely result of the company’s filing is that it will be removed from the first federal trial over the toll of opioids, scheduled to start Oct. 21 in Cleveland. Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries along with drug distributors and one pharmacy chain, Walgreens, remain as defendants.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

DON'T MISS

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

DON'T MISS

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

DON'T MISS

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

DON'T MISS

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

DON'T MISS

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

Yelich’s 5th Career Slam and Bauers’ 2-Run Homer Power the Brewers to Win Over the Giants

UP NEXT

Happ Hits Game-Ending Single in the 10th as the Cubs Rally Past Dodgers

UP NEXT

Trump: No Plans to Fire Fed Chair Powell, but Wants Lower Rates

UP NEXT

Top Producer at ’60 Minutes’ Quits Amid Trump Lawsuit Pressure

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

13 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

13 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

14 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

14 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

14 hours ago

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

14 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

16 hours ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

16 hours ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

16 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

16 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

11 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. (REUTERS File)
13 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

13 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Chickens sit at a poultry farm. March 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo)
14 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

14 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Candi, GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week
14 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend