Trial News

The Sackler family, under a recent settlement with 15 states, will pay $7.4 billion, relinquish control of Purdue Pharma Inc., and give up future sales of opioids in the United States. It is the largest settlement with the family in connection with its alleged role in the opioid overdose epidemic.

The Sacklers, accused of forcefully marketing the drug Oxycontin and downplaying its addictive qualities, will pay as much as $6.5 billion over a 15-year span with Purdue paying close to $900 million. This money will go toward treating and preventing opioid addiction in the participating states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The settlement comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. last June, where the Court held that Sackler family members could not discharge claims as third-party nondebtors under Purdue Pharma’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. (Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., 603 U.S. 204 (2024).) The recent agreement with the states settles all extant suits against Purdue and creates a legal fund of $800 million, which the family can use toward any future litigation.

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement noting that this is the largest settlement in which her office has taken part. “The Sackler family relentlessly pursued profit at the expense of vulnerable patients,” James said. “While no amount of money will ever fully repair the damage they caused, this massive influx of funds will bring resources to communities in need so that we can heal.”

Attorneys Jayne Conroy of New York City; Paul T. Farrell Jr. of Huntington, W. Va.; and Joe Rice of Charleston, S.C.—the co-leads of the National Prescription Opiate Litigation Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee—released a statement addressing the effort that went into the settlement, saying, “We have worked closely with the state Attorneys General in this lengthy and hard-fought mediation process, and we have made great progress in resolving this litigation. There are a number of issues we will continue to work on in the coming days and weeks to finalize this agreement and expedite the delivery of critical funds to communities across the country.”

Attorney Jeffrey Marion of Williamsville, N.Y., who cochairs AAJ’s Opioids Litigation Group, noted, “I am absolutely delighted that the Sacklers have come to the table in this instance. It is proof that the civil justice system is still a place where the average citizen and taxpayer can hold powerful interests to account for their wrongdoing.”

In the aftermath of this settlement, Purdue Pharma remains bankrupt and may neither sell opioids nor engage in lobbying. The states that participated in the settlement will select trustees to determine the company’s fate.