Supreme Ct Overturns Opioid Settlement with Purdue Pharma That Shielded Sacklers: NPR
- Supreme Ct overturns opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma that shielded Sacklers, June 29, 2024. Ed.
- The recent death toll from the ongoing opioid crisis exceeds 100,000 Americans every year. -
After the Supreme Court struck down a controversial bankruptcy plan from Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, those who sued the drug company were left uncertain about when promised funds would be available to combat addiction and other damage from the ongoing drug epidemic.
The ruling upended a carefully-crafted settlement worth roughly $8 billion, and involving the Sackler family, which owns Purdue, and all the individuals, states and local governments that had sued over harms from the opioid epidemic. In a 5-4 decision, the justices focused on the part of the Purdue bankruptcy plan that shielded members of the Sackler family from future opioid-related lawsuits.
In the majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote: “In this case, the Sacklers have not filed for bankruptcy or placed all their assets on the table for distribution to creditors, yet they seek what essentially amounts to a discharge. No provision of the [bankruptcy] code authorizes that kind of relief.”
Some relatives of overdose victims praised the decision. Ed Bisch’s son — also named Ed — overdosed on Oxycontin in 2001, at age 18. Bisch now leads Relatives Against Purdue Pharma, and wants the Sacklers held personally accountable. “We did not want to give them exactly what they want,” Bisch said. “Today is a very good day for justice.”...
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/06/29/nx-s1-5021798/supreme-court-overturns-opioid-settlement-with-purdue-pharma-that-shielded-sacklerssupreme-court-overturns-sackler-settlement-delaying-funds-meant-for-communities-battling-opioids
AP News
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-purdue-pharma-opioid-crisis-bankruptcy-9859e83721f74f726ec16b6e07101c7c
= new reply since forum marked as read
