We only thought it was over. There’s another ending yet to come.
Here’s one of many recent articles on a surprising turn in the Oxycontin mega-case.
Supreme Court pauses Purdue Pharma settlement plan worth billions
A brief synopsis of events:
Earlier this year, the US Court of Appeals gave its stamp of approval to a plan that allowed Purdue Pharma, makers of Oxycontin, to complete its bankruptcy, in return for an agreed-on settlement of initially four, then six, billion dollars. Payable in installments, over two decades.
It’s a lot of money, granted. But right from the beginning, plaintiff’s attorneys and the Department of Justice were unhappy that the deal would also provide immunity for the Sackler family members themselves – separate from the corporation — from future lawsuits around the same issues.
Purdue Pharma as we knew it would disappear, to be replaced by something more civic-minded. But the Sackler family would be entitled to keep the remainder of their family fortune, at the time estimated in the neighborhood of $13 billion.
That didn’t sit right with some of the plaintiffs, especially relatives of the many, many victims of Oxycontin. It was also heavily criticized in legal circles, on the grounds that, in effect, the settlement interfered with the rights of American citizens to sue. That’s a Constitutional no-no.
It’ll be up to the US Supreme Court to decide. Probably late this year.
Meanwhile, there’s a new TV movie out on the Sacklers and the opioid epidemic. It’s called Painkiller, with Matthew Broderick in the role of Richard Sackler. Available for streaming on Netflix. Early reviews are that it’s entertaining but not as impressive as 2021’s Dopesick, for which star Michael Keaton was awarded a Best Actor Emmy.
I haven’t seen either movie, and I’m not sure I will. I already know how things turn out.
