Arizona, an initial backer of Purdue Pharma LP’s proposed settlement of opioid-related claims from state and local governments, took aim at aspects of the deal, which has divided state attorneys general nationwide, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Arizona said on Monday that it opposed Purdue’s request to halt thousands of lawsuits targeting the company and its owners, reversing the state’s prior commitment to cease legal hostilities while the drugmaker’s bankruptcy proceedings played out. The state initially supported Purdue’s settlement proposal, which would resolve wide-ranging claims seeking to hold the company and its controlling family, the Sacklers, liable for fueling opioid addiction. Arizona didn’t explicitly withdraw its support Monday but said those lawsuits shouldn’t be stayed by Purdue’s bankruptcy filing. The state also said in its filing, without elaborating, that Purdue had undermined “material terms” of the proposal “at nearly every turn.”
