Purdue Pharma

In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that the multibillion opioid settlement inappropriately protected the Sackler family.

Under the agreement, McKinsey must establish a fund to reimburse insurers, private benefit plans and others for some or all of their prescription opioid costs.

The justices struggled to decide whether to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the multibillion dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal -- a deal meant to compensate victims of OxyContin.

In exchange for giving up ownership of drug manufacturer Purdue Pharma and for contributing up to $6 billion to fight the crisis, members of the wealthy Sackler family would be exempt from any civil lawsuits

Supreme Court's decision to review the controversial bankruptcy deal involving the maker of Oxycontin means the settlement will remain on hold at least through December.

A federal appeals court reversed a 2021 ruling that found bankruptcy court judges did not have the authority to shield from civil lawsuits members of the Purdue owners.

One lawsuit was filed by eight Northwest Florida counties and four cities, and another by Miami-Dade and two South Florida cities. They allege that McKinsey & Company “played an integral role in creating and deepening the opioid crisis.”

The deal, hashed out over weeks of intense negotiations, raises the amount paid by the Sacklers by more than $1 billion. In exchange, the family members win immunity from civil opioid lawsuits.

A federal judge has overturned a bankruptcy settlement worth more than $4 billion that granted immunity from opioid lawsuits to members of the family who owns the company that makes OxyContin.

Judge Colleen McMahon was expected to halt work on the controversial settlement that would give immunity from opioid lawsuits to the Sackler family. Instead she allowed work on the plan to go ahead.