Headline Roundup • January 24th, 2025
State Attorneys General Reach $7.4 Billion Settlement with Purdue Pharma, Sacklers over Opioid Lawsuits
Summary from the AllSides News Team
More than a dozen state attorneys general have reached a new settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners over the company’s painkiller OxyContin, which has contributed to the opioid crisis.
The Details: The settlement involves the Sackler family and their company agreeing to pay up to $7.4 billion to resolve lawsuits related to opioid addictions and deaths. It replaces a previous deal rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. The settlement includes $6.5 billion from the Sacklers and $900 million from Purdue Pharma and will be used for opioid addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery programs.
Key Quote: New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release, “the Sacklers no longer have control of Purdue and will never be allowed to sell opioids in the United States again.”
Bipartisanship: The settlement was negotiated by state attorneys general from both major parties. Participating states with Democrat attorneys general were California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Vermont. Participating states with Republican attorneys general were Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
How The Media Covered It: Reporting about the new agreement over opioid lawsuits was largely consistent across the political spectrum, with many left- and center-leaning news sources publishing stories. As of Friday afternoon, there wasn't much coverage from news outlets on the right, though Newsmax (Right bias) republished an article from Associated Press (Left bias).
Featured Coverage of this Story
Washington Examiner
Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, reached a settlement of up to $7.4 billion for its role in the opioid crisis, less than a year after the Supreme Court tossed out a proposed $6 billion settlement. The settlement, in principle, announced Thursday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, would not shield the parties from additional liability, which was part of the previous settlement that was found to be an abuse of bankruptcy protections. “My office is making Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family pay up to $7.4...
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Members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, have agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion in a new settlement related to lawsuits over the impact of the powerful prescription painkiller. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the agreement on Thursday. The deal, reached between Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family members who own the company, and lawyers representing state and local governments along with thousands of opioid crisis victims, marks an over $1 billion increase from a previous settlement that was rejected by the U.S....
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ABC News (Online)
The company and once-prominent family behind the drug OxyContin agreed Thursday to increase their financial contribution to resolve mass opioid litigation. The Sacklers and Purdue Pharma boosted their settlement contribution to $7.4 billion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a prior settlement in June 2024. If approved, the new plan would end the costliest corporate bankruptcy resulting from the U.S. opioid crisis. Purdue, under the leadership of the Sackler families, invented, manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, according to the lawsuits. States and cities across the country said...
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