Congressional Democrats are seeking to prevent members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP from using the drug company’s bankruptcy to get legal releases freeing them from government lawsuits over the opioid painkiller, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and senior committee member Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) introduced a bill on Friday specifying that bankruptcy judges cannot release legal claims brought by states, tribes, municipalities or the U.S. government against a bankrupt company’s owners, like the Sacklers, or its directors, officers or other third parties with ties to a chapter 11 case. The legislative proposal comes after the Sacklers offered to pay $4.28 billion over the next decade in exchange for legal releases that would resolve lawsuits accusing Purdue of helping fuel the opioid epidemic. The settlement offer is part of a larger multibillion-dollar reorganization plan designed to get Purdue out of chapter 11. Attorneys general from 24 states plus Washington, D.C., have come out against Purdue’s plan and have demanded greater transparency and more upfront money from the Sacklers.
