The Sacklers, who own Purdue Pharma, maker of Oxycontin, have maintained they did nothing wrong. People who lost loved ones and years of their lives to opioid addiction believe otherwise.
People who were addicted to OxyContin or lost loved ones who were addicted to the drug expect very little in compensation from the multibillion-dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement.
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.
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.
With a federal judge poised to approve Purdue Pharma's controversial Chapter 11 plan, the company is working behind the scenes to preempt a legal challenge by the DOJ.
In the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy trial now underway, scrutiny has focused on the Sacklers' demand for immunity from opioid lawsuits that would extend to a vast network of individuals and businesses.
The Purdue Pharma bankruptcy process has focused on financial compensation to creditors, but court records include heartrending personal letters from families ravaged by Oxycontin.
Two divisions of the DOJ argue the deal improperly shelters members of the Sackler family and their associates from liability. States are finalizing a separate deal with other opioid companies.
Massachusetts and New York are among the states agreeing to end the fight to halt a controversial Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan. The deal shelters members of the Sackler family from opioid lawsuits.
A bankruptcy judge cleared a plan for final vote by creditors of Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, that would release the Sacklers and their financial empire from liability for the opioid crisis.
Drug distributors have faced embarrassing revelations about their internal practices. One email shared by corporate executives described rural Americans addicted to opioids as "pillbillies."
Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney investigated the opioid crisis. He says it was created by pharmaceutical companies, distributors, pharmacists and doctors, all looking to profit.
Under a bankruptcy procedure prohibited by courts in part of the country, the Sacklers could be sheltered from opioid lawsuits even without declaring bankruptcy. Some states are crying foul.
Companies that sold or distributed opioid medications face huge legal, financial and public relations peril. Critics say shareholders, not CEOs, will pay the price.
Two dozen states had hoped to sue the owners of Purdue Pharma for their alleged role in the opioid crisis. But a federal bankruptcy has judge put the brakes on — again — until April 21.
