A federal bankruptcy court on November 18 formally approved Purdue’s $7.4 billion Chapter 11 plan to settle thousands of opioid-related lawsuits. The plan requires (1) a $6.5 billion contribution from the Sackler family members who own Purdue and (2) a $900 million contribution from Purdue itself. The contributions will be placed into disbursement trusts to provide recoveries to individual personal injury claimants and state and local governments and agencies with claims tied to the national opioid epidemic.
During an oral decision from the bench, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York gave reasoning for approving the plan, which replaces one the U.S. Supreme Court rejected last year in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma LP, 603 U.S. 204 (2024). The Supreme Court found that the previous agreement would have improperly protected Purdue’s owners against future lawsuits. However, under the current agreement, entities and claimants that do not opt into the payments will maintain their right to sue members of the Sackler family.
The Office of the New York State Attorney General announced the plan’s approval here.
Editor: Brenden S. Gingrich, Ph.D.
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