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posted by janrinok on Saturday September 21 2019, @10:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the they-must-be-on-drugs dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Sacklers threaten to scrap opioid deal if they aren't shielded from lawsuits

Lawyers for OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma filed a new complaint late Wednesday threatening that the company's mega-rich owners, the Sackler family, could pull out of a proposed multi-billion-dollar opioid settlement deal if a bankruptcy judge doesn't shield the family from outstanding state lawsuits.

Purdue's lawyers argue that if the lawsuits continue, the Sacklers will have to waste "hundreds of millions of dollars" on legal costs that could otherwise go to claimants in the settlement. The family's lawyers added that in that event, the family "may be unwilling—or unable—to make the billions of dollars of contributions" to the proposed settlement.

State attorneys general, however, argue that the tactic is yet another move designed to shield the Sacklers and their ill-gotten wealth.

"This filing isn't a surprise. It's yet another effort by Purdue to avoid accountability and shield the Sackler family fortune, and we will be opposing it," Maura Healey, the attorney general of Massachusetts, told the New York Times.

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  • (Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Sunday September 22 2019, @08:21PM

    by Rupert Pupnick (7277) on Sunday September 22 2019, @08:21PM (#897247) Journal

    I’m talking about good from the point of view of Team Sackler which is surely trying to get out of all legal jeopardy at minimum cost. Indeed, the courts have nothing to do with the decision the defendants make on how to settle. And of course all plaintiffs should have a right to sue (or be included in a big enough settlement). Sacklers have the choice between:

    1) Pay ~$10B followed by lots of litigation.
    2) Pay no settlement followed by lots of litigation.

    As Maura Healey says, picking option 2 is not a surprise if you won’t acknowledge responsibility, and all you’re trying to do is pay as little as possible.

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