Families devastated by the Supreme Court’s rejection of Purdue opioid settlement
The Supreme Court’s recent decision to reject a massive settlement for victims of the opioid crisis has left many families devastated and determined to continue their fight for justice. The ruling, which blocked a bankruptcy reorganization plan for Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has been met with shock, sadness, and a renewed resolve among those who have lost loved ones to opioids.
Jill Cichowicz, whose twin brother Scott Zebrowski died of fentanyl poisoning in 2017 after taking what he thought was OxyContin, described the ruling as a gut punch. “It kind of equated to the day that he died,” said Cichowicz, who founded the nonprofit group Two in the Stigma. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision ruled that the bankruptcy court did not have the authority to release the Sackler family members from opioid victims’ legal claims. The deal, which included billions for states to abate the crisis and $750 million for victims, was seen as a significant step towards addressing the opioid epidemic.
Edward Neiger, an attorney representing victims of the opioid epidemic, called the setback devastating. “Today we’re grieving, we’re upset, we’re collecting our thoughts, and we’re going to regroup,” Neiger said. “But I can guarantee you that the victims, and I, are not going to give up.”
Kay Scarpone, who lost her son Marine Sgt. Joseph Scarpone to an overdose in 2015, expressed her devastation at the ruling. Joseph had returned from Afghanistan with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and eventually turned to street drugs, leading to his fatal overdose. Scarpone, who founded the New Hampshire chapter of the nonprofit group Team Sharing, said the Purdue Pharma deal was the best they could get for victims and states. “Now we have to go back and tell all these people, ‘Sorry, it’s off the table,'” she said. “It’s heart-wrenching. We asked these people to trust us.”
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, stated that the Sacklers could have declared bankruptcy but instead sought to piggyback on the company’s bankruptcy proceedings to resolve pending legal claims. The original settlement included a $6 billion payment from the Sacklers to settle opioid-related claims, but only in return for a complete release from any future liability. The U.S. Trustee, which oversees bankruptcies under the Justice Department, along with eight states, Washington, D.C., and the city of Seattle, objected to the deal, arguing that it could set a dangerous precedent for corporations and wealthy individuals to misuse the bankruptcy system.
The Supreme Court ruling means that settlement talks with the Sacklers will have to begin again, while the separate Purdue Pharma bankruptcy proceedings continue. In the aftermath of the decision, the Sackler family, Purdue Pharma, and lawyers for the plaintiffs expressed hope that a new deal could be reached quickly.
An estimated 81,083 people died in the U.S. last year due to opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Opioids accounted for the vast majority of the estimated 107,543 overall drug overdose deaths that year. Scarpone described the ruling as going back to the drawing board and emphasized that the delay in the money, which includes funds for treatment, will cost lives. “The next step is we’re going to fight,” she said.
The Supreme Court’s decision has left many families feeling betrayed and heartbroken. “It’s not fair,” said Scarpone. “We’ll keep fighting, though. We won’t give up.” The justices rejected the agreement because it would have protected the Sackler family from any civil lawsuits over OxyContin, which was produced and promoted by Purdue Pharma. Under the settlement, New Hampshire would have received $46 million. Scarpone said the settlement was the best plan they could get from the Sackler family, and now, lawyers will try to make a new plan. “That settlement money was going to help so many victims, and it was going to help abate the crisis, and we worked so hard just to have it taken away from us,” she said.
Edward Neiger, the attorney representing Scarpone and other victims, said the ruling from the court will prevent thousands of families from getting the settlement they deserve from the Sackler family. “Right now, they are not slated to get a single penny,” Neiger said. “The $750 million they were supposed to get, the Supreme Court just blew that up.”
In a statement, Purdue Pharma called the news “heart-crushing.” “The decision does nothing to deter us from the twin goals of using settlement dollars for opioid abatement and turning the company into an engine for good,” the company said. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2022, more than 81,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose, more than four times the amount since this data started being recorded in 1999.
The Supreme Court’s ruling has left the drug policy world torn. Some were eager to see the $6 billion settlement put to work preventing and treating opioid addiction, while others found the prospect of shielding the Sackler family from civil lawsuits indefensible. The decision has made bankruptcy a less attractive way to resolve sprawling lawsuits, as it sharply scaled back a court’s ability to wipe away legal claims against entities that have not filed for bankruptcy themselves.
As the nation continues to grapple with the opioid epidemic, the Sackler family had agreed to pay $6 billion to families and states as part of an agreement to wind down Purdue Pharma. In exchange, the Sackler family would be immunized from future civil liability claims. Purdue marketed OxyContin as a safer and less addictive painkiller, encouraging doctors to prescribe the drug over longer periods and for more routine injuries. The drug’s success fueled the Sackler fortune, and the family became known for philanthropy. However, lawsuits and news accounts alleged that the family continued to promote OxyContin even after learning of its addictive properties.
From 1999 to 2021, nearly 645,000 people died from an opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Justice Gorsuch noted that the bankruptcy law did not specifically give authority to courts to allow third parties like the Sacklers to avoid future liability. While he acknowledged that the decision might cause Purdue’s current reorganization plan to unravel, he suggested that it could increase legal exposure for the Sacklers and force them to negotiate better terms.
In a statement, Purdue said the ruling would require the company to renew efforts to reach a resolution that delivers billions of dollars for opioid abatement and allows the company to emerge from bankruptcy as a public benefit company. “Today’s ruling is heart-crushing because it invalidates a settlement supported by nearly all of our creditors – including states, local governments, personal injury victims, schools, and hospitals – that would have delivered billions of dollars for victim compensation, opioid crisis abatement, and overdose rescue and addiction treatment medicines,” Purdue said.
The families of the late Mortimer Sackler and the late Raymond Sackler also expressed disappointment with the decision. As the legal battle continues, families affected by the opioid crisis remain committed to seeking justice and ensuring that the funds needed to address the epidemic are secured.
Source: NBC News, WMUR, CNN, Reuters, KFF Health News
