Bankruptcy Judge Extends Purdue's Opioid Lawsuit Protection

Bankruptcy Judge Extends Purdue's Opioid Lawsuit Protection

Introduction

On Wednesday, November 6, a federal bankruptcy judge extended the temporary protection for Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family against the opioid lawsuit until April 8, 2020.

The protection will give the maker of OxyContin time to reach the proposed settlement valued between $10 billion to $12 billion. As a part of the proposal, the Sacklers have also agreed to contribute around $3 billion for the settlement from the sale of an overseas drug company it owns and surrender the control of their firm.

The defendants filed for bankruptcy on September 15, as a part of the settlement proposal with 24 states, which is opposed by the 24 states and the District of Columbia. The defendants have already settled the lawsuits with Oklahoma and Kentucky. 

Other defendants, including distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc., and McKesson Corp, along with drugmakers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Inc and Johnson & Johnson, proposed a settlement of $48 billion in October.

Earlier, two Ohio counties and four drug companies reached a tentative settlement of roughly $260 million at the eleventh hour to avoid an opioid trial.

The deal involves Summit and Cuyahoga counties, along with defendants AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and Teva Pharmaceuticals. Distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson have vouched to pay $215 million, whereas manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay $20 million in cash, also an additional $25 million for addiction and overdose treatment. Post the settlement announcement, Walgreens is the only defendant for the Ohio trial.

The settlement will only end the lawsuits brought by Summit and Cuyahoga counties. There are still thousands of lawsuits filed by the city, county, and tribal representatives alleging the distributors and manufacturers for fuelling the opioid crisis. 

Meanwhile, in a meeting held in Cleveland, attorneys general from four states North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas, along with the drug companies, are trying to close the deal, which can be worth $48 billion in cash to settle opioid cases nationally.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster is presiding over the opioid lawsuits consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation), centralized by JPML last year, in the Northern District of Ohio, to aid coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Earlier Ohio attorney general and drug companies requested to impede an upcoming opioid trial accusing drugmakers of fueling the opioid crisis. The appeal was rejected by the Sixt Circuit. Mike DeWine who is Ohio’s governor opposed the bid from the attorney general stating that he would refuse any legislation that gives control over the counties’ suit, as the opioid epidemic has impacted the local governments.

More than 2,600 lawsuits are alleging that the company fueled the opioid crisis and contributed to 400,000 U.S. deaths between 1999 and 2017. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster is presiding over the opioid lawsuits consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation).

Earlier, two Ohio counties and four drug companies reached a tentative settlement of roughly $260 million at the eleventh hour to avoid an opioid trial.

The deal involves Summit and Cuyahoga counties, along with defendants AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and Teva Pharmaceuticals. Distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson have vouched to pay $215 million, whereas manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay $20 million in cash, also an additional $25 million for addiction and overdose treatment. Post the settlement announcement, Walgreens is the only defendant for the Ohio trial.

The settlement will only end the lawsuits brought by Summit and Cuyahoga counties. There are still thousands of lawsuits filed by the city, county, and tribal representatives alleging the distributors and manufacturers for fuelling the opioid crisis. 
Meanwhile, in a meeting held in Cleveland, attorneys general from four states North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas, along with the drug companies, are trying to close the deal, which can be worth $48 billion in cash to settle opioid cases nationally.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster is presiding over the opioid lawsuits consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation), centralized by JPML last year, in the Northern District of Ohio, to aid coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Earlier Ohio attorney general and drug companies requested to impede an upcoming opioid trial accusing drugmakers of fueling the opioid crisis. The appeal was rejected by the Sixt Circuit. Mike DeWine who is Ohio’s governor opposed the bid from the attorney general stating that he would refuse any legislation that gives control over the counties’ suit, as the opioid epidemic has impacted the local governments.