Judge Allows Sacklers to Appeal Ruling on $4.5 Billion Opioid Settlement

A federal judge is allowing the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma to appeal a ruling that overturned a $4.5 billion settlement resolving thousands of complaints alleging they helped fuel the opioid epidemic.

Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said that Purdue and the Sacklers have until Jan. 17 to pursue an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which has discretion on whether to review the case.

In overturning the settlement on Dec. 16, McMahon ruled that the federal bankruptcy judge who approved the Sacklers’ settlement plan in September had ruled incorrectly.