The judge overseeing Purdue Pharma LP’s bankruptcy shielded the OxyContin maker’s owners for another six months from lawsuits over the U.S. opioid crisis, saying that forcing them to defend themselves would disrupt settlement talks, the Wall Street Journal reported. Yesterday’s ruling by Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., extended the shield against litigation through October, against the wishes of state attorneys general who were seeking permission to resume lawsuits targeting members of Purdue’s controlling family, the Sacklers. Their lawsuits have been on hold since October, when Judge Drain extended to the Sacklers the shield against litigation that Purdue received when it filed for chapter 11 protection. Purdue has proposed a settlement of thousands of lawsuits from states, local governments and Native American tribes that blame the company and the Sacklers for helping fuel drug addiction through the powerful painkiller OxyContin. Two dozen state attorneys general aren’t on board with the proposed deal, under which the Sacklers would relinquish the company and pay another $3 billion. While the Sacklers haven’t declared bankruptcy themselves, Purdue has said they are more likely to come to terms with the holdout states if they are negotiating rather than fighting in court. With an initial standstill period set to expire, holdout states objected last week when Purdue sought another 180-day extension. They said that shielding the Sacklers from having to defend themselves in other jurisdictions would send a message that wealthy individuals can avoid having to answer for alleged wrongdoing. Purdue and the Sacklers have broadly denied they acted improperly regarding the company’s marketing and sale of OxyContin and said the bankruptcy process is the best way to reach a deal that would free up money for fighting opioid addiction.
