A federal choose has thrown out a settlement that may have shielded the Sackler household, which owned OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, from future lawsuits over opioids, upending the corporate’s plan to reorganize in chapter court docket.
U.S. District Choose Colleen McMahon in Manhattan mentioned in a written ruling on Thursday that the chapter court docket didn’t have the authorized authority to launch the household from legal responsibility.
Purdue and legal professionals for the Sacklers couldn’t instantly be reached for remark Thursday night.
The corporate has been accused of pushing huge quantities of its OxyContin ache drug on sufferers, whereas underplaying its potential for dependancy and abuse, which it has denied. It filed for chapter in 2019, going through a slew of authorized claims over the drug.
U.S. Chapter Choose Robert Drain in September authorized a reorganization plan, together with a settlement of the lawsuits towards the corporate by which the Sacklers would pay $4.5 billion and be launched from future legal responsibility.
McMahon, nonetheless, mentioned chapter regulation didn’t enable such a launch, for the reason that Sacklers had not filed for chapter.