A federal judge has thrown out the bankruptcy settlement for Stamford-headquartered Purdue Pharma that would have protected its owners, the Sackler family, from future lawsuits relating to their role in creating the opioid crisis through the marketing of their OxyContin product line.
In September, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain approved a settlement plan for the dissolution of Purdue Pharma and the transfer of its assets to a firm run by a trust and meant to combat the opioid crisis. The settlement protected the Sackler family from future opioid-related lawsuits and would have allowed them to retain much of the money they made from Purdue without requiring them to admit to any wrongdoing
However, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that the bankruptcy court did not have the authority to release the Sackler family from liability. An attorney representing the Sacklers said they would appeal this ruling.
Connecticut joined seven states and the District of Columbia is seeking the overturn of the September settlement. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong hailed McMahon”™s ruling as a “seismic victory for justice and accountability that will re-open the deeply flawed Purdue bankruptcy and force the Sackler family to confront the pain and devastation they have caused.”
“Connecticut will not allow billionaire wrongdoers to hide behind the bankruptcy code to shield their blood money and escape justice,” Tong added. “The Sacklers must and will be held accountable for the devastation they have caused.”
