Bankruptcy Judge Approves $6 Billion Purdue Pharma Settlement

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain for the Southern District of New York has approved a revised $6 billion opioid settlement negotiated between the Sackler family, owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, and several states that appealed a previously approved proposal.  

But the Justice Department, which appealed the previous settlement, reportedly plans to appeal again because it claims that the U.S. bankruptcy court lacks the authority to grant widespread immunity from future civil litigation.

The civil settlement does not protect the Sackler family from “any potential criminal liability,” said Attorney General William Tong of Connecticut, one of the states that appealed the prior settlement along with California, Delaware, Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state and the District of Columbia.