Headline Roundup • March 3rd, 2022
Sacklers Agree to $6 Billion Opioid Settlement With US States
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Sackler family owners of Purdue Pharma agreed Thursday to pay as much as $6 billion to resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits from several states.
The agreement, which has yet to be approved by a bankruptcy judge, came after Purdue and several states traded appeals on a previous bankruptcy agreement involving a $4.5 billion payout. The new deal would not protect the Sacklers from future liability related to the opioid crisis. It would also allow organizations to remove the Sackler name from buildings.
Coverage was widespread and mostly balanced across the spectrum on Thursday. Coverage was somewhat more common in left and center-rated outlets than right-rated outlets.
Featured Coverage of this Story
PHOTO: GEORGE FREY/REUTERS
Members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma LP and grew wealthy from sales of OxyContin agreed to give back $6 billion to settle lawsuits accusing them of helping fuel the opioid epidemic, earning the unanimous support of state attorney generals to resolve their liability and end the company’s bankruptcy case.
Frank Franklin Ii/Associated Press
Members of the billionaire Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, have reached a deal with a group of states that had long resisted the company’s bankruptcy plan, opening the way for billions of dollars to begin flowing to addiction treatment programs nationwide, according to a court filing Thursday.
If Judge Robert Drain, who has presided over the bankruptcy proceedings in White Plains, N.Y., approves the agreement, the Sacklers will pay as much as $6 billion to help communities address the damages wrought by the opioid crisis.
Pacific Press
Purdue Pharma and its owners, the billionaire Sackler family, will pay $6 billion to several states to settle a lawsuit brought about by the devastating opioid crisis, according to court papers.
A New York State judge must now sign off on the deal between the maker of OxyContin and the states.
According to the terms of the deal, the Sacklers, whose cumulative net worth is estimated to be $13 billion, will pay at least $5.5 billion in cash, which will be used to fund treatment centers helping those addicted to opioids.
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