Sacklers

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a challenge to a deal to compensate victims of the opioid epidemic that shield the Sackler family from lawsuits.

Money vs. principle: Supreme Court sends mixed signals in OxyContin maker's bankruptcy

Nina Totenberg

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.

Lynn Wencus, of Wrentham, Mass., holds a photograph of her son Jeff while seated in a garden at her home, in Wrentham, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Wencus lost Jeff to a heroin overdose in 2017. Families who lost loved ones to overdose are divided over OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's plan to settle lawsuits over the toll of opioids with governments. It could provide billions to address an overdose epidemic and pay some victims. But it would also protect members of the Sackler family who own the company from future lawsuits.

Health News Florida

Sackler settlement divides victims of opioid crisis. Now it's up to Supreme Court

Associated Press

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

Fake pill bottles with messages about OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma were displayed during a protest outside the courthouse where the bankruptcy of the company was taking place in White Plains, N.Y. in 2021.

Health News Florida

Supreme Court temporarily blocks $6 billion Purdue Pharma-Sackler bankruptcy

Brian Mann

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.

Jayde Newton helps to set up cardboard gravestones with the names of victims of opioid abuse outside the courthouse where the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy is taking place in White Plains, N.Y., on Aug. 9, 2021. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Tuesday, May 30 overturned a lower court’s 2021 ruling that found bankruptcy courts did not have the authority to protect members of the Sackler family who own the company and who have not filed for bankruptcy protection from lawsuits.

Health News Florida

Ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma to settle opioid claims, protect Sacklers from lawsuits

Associated Press

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.

Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy with a more than $10 billion plan to settle claims that it fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic by illegally pushing sales of its addictive OxyContin painkiller. The company's headquarters in Stamford, Conn., is shown here in 2019.

Health News Florida

DOJ Moves To Block Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Deal That Shields Sacklers

Brian Mann

The DOJ is seeking to block implementation of any part of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal until legal challenges are settled. The deal granted Sackler family members immunity from opioid lawsuits.

Two demonstrators protest against U.S. Judge Robert Drain, who has granted immunity from future opioid lawsuits to members of the Sackler family.

Health News Florida

Sacklers, Who Made Billions From OxyContin, Win Immunity From Opioid Lawsuits

Brian Mann

The decision by a federal bankruptcy judge grants members of the family who own Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, sweeping protection from any liability for the opioid crisis.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is facing thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold it accountable for the opioid crisis.

NPR Health

Purdue Pharma: Sackler Family's 'Personal Wealth' Offered In Opioid Deal

Brian Mann

A group of state attorneys general negotiating with members of the Sackler family says they expect Purdue Pharma to file for bankruptcy "imminently," according to an email obtained by NPR.