Sackler family and Purdue Pharma must pay $7.4 billion in settlement over painkiller lawsuits

In a recent settlement to litigation concerning the toll of the potent prescription painkiller, New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that the family members who own Purdue Pharma, the firm that makes OxyContin, had agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion.

The agreement, which was approved by Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family members who own the business, and attorneys for state and local governments as well as thousands of opioid crisis victims, is more than $1 billion more than a previous settlement agreement that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected last year.

Purdue agreed to pay $900 million, while the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6.5 billion, for a total of $7.4 billion.

In a series of lawsuits filed by local, state, and Native American tribe governments, as well as others, to hold corporations accountable for a fatal pandemic, it is one of the biggest settlements obtained in recent years. The majority of the funds must be utilized to stop the crisis, and in addition to the Purdue deal, other deals totaling about $50 billion have been announced.

There are still certain specifics that need to be worked out, and the arrangement still needs court approval.

The attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia have joined Attorney General James in securing the settlement in principle.

According to the revised plan, Purdue’s owners, the Sackler family, would contribute up to $7.4 billion over 15 years and cede ownership of the university, which would be reorganized as a new organization with a board chosen by states and other parties that filed lawsuits against the business. Additionally, a percentage of the funds will be distributed to opioid epidemic victims or their survivors.

The family will contribute more than the $6 billion that was agreed upon in the prior arrangement.Despite the fact that the affluent family members were not in bankruptcy, the Supreme Court invalidated the deal last year because it shielded them from civil litigation related to OxyContin. Only parties that accept the settlement can sue family members under the new agreement.

Since the court’s decision, mediation has been held in an attempt to reach a new agreement. The door may open for lawsuits against Sackler family members if one is not achieved.

A lengthy legal battle over the opioid crisis, which some experts believe started when the popular painkiller OxyContin was introduced to the market in 1996, may come to an end with the recent deal. Since then, hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States have been attributed to opioids. Since 2020, when illegal fentanyl has been linked to over 70,000 deaths yearly, this has been the deadliest period.

Because of their involvement with the privately held firm, members of the Sackler family have been portrayed as villains and had their names taken out of art galleries and institutions all around the world. They have persisted in rejecting allegations of misconduct.

Family members’ combined estimated wealth exceeds the amount they would contribute to the settlement by billions, yet a large portion of the cash is held in offshore accounts and may not be accessible through legal action.

Due to the opioid crisis and the thousands of lawsuits company was facing, Purdue filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019. The business allegedly targeted physicians by claiming that there was no chance of addiction to the potent medications.

One branch of the family promised in an October 2024 filing to defend itself in any proceedings that are permitted to proceed, stating that the legal basis underlying the lawsuits—that members of the Purdue and Sackler families produced a public nuisance—is completely without substance.