The News
The US Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a controversial bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma, scrapping a deal to put $6 billion into compensating victims and addressing the nation’s opioid crisis in exchange for legal protections the family that owns the company.
In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that the bankruptcy court did not have the authority to release the Sackler family from liability in future lawsuits. But in turn, the ruling imperils settlement deals for victims of the opioid crisis.
Settlement talks must now restart, which a lawyer for some of the victims warned last year could lead to zero compensation for those affected by the opioid crisis.
