Purdue Pharma’s Bankruptcy Case, Explained

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma to determine whether a bankruptcy court can discharge claims against a party that did not itself file for bankruptcy. 

In 2019, Purdue Pharma was mired in thousands of lawsuits across the country with business partners, states, hospitals, and victims of opioid addiction and their family members due to the company’s production and marketing of OxyContin, a controlled substance prescribed for managing pain. Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allowed it to pause all ongoing lawsuits and bring the parties into a single negotiation.