Purdue Pharma asks for freeze of lawsuits after U.S. Supreme Court ruling

Purdue Pharma connected Tuesday asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge for a 60-day frost connected lawsuits against its owners, members of nan able Sackler family, successful its first tribunal quality since a landmark Supreme Court ruling upended its bankruptcy settlement.

Purdue’s lawyer Marshall Huebner said astatine a tribunal proceeding successful White Plains, New York, that a litigation ceasefire will alteration “a precocious speed, precocious stakes mediation” arsenic Purdue seeks to renegotiate a broad colony of lawsuits against nan Sacklers and nan institution alleging that its painkiller OxyContin spurred an opioid addiction situation successful nan U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled connected June 27 that Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy colony tin not shield nan Sacklers, who did not record for bankruptcy themselves, complete their domiciled successful nan nation’s deadly opioid epidemic.

The ruling sent Purdue backmost to nan drafting committee aft astir 5 years successful bankruptcy and imperils billions of dollars successful backing that nan institution and nan Sacklers had promised to salary toward addressing nan harms of nan U.S. opioid epidemic.

Purdue’s bankruptcy has stopped opioid lawsuits from proceeding against nan Stamford, Connecticut-based drugmaker since 2019, and Purdue has extended that ineligible protection to nan Sacklers arsenic well.

Huebner told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane that protecting nan Sacklers for a “modest” 60-day negotiating play would springiness Purdue nan champion chance to discuss a caller bankruptcy colony and “preserve arsenic overmuch arsenic possible” of its erstwhile deal.

Purdue intends to move swiftly successful an effort to scope a woody that will put money to activity stopping opioid overdoses and treating addiction, Huebner said.

“Every azygous time of hold continues to travel astatine a tragic, tragic cost,” Huebner said.

Purdue besides asked Lane to name 2 mediators to assistance colony talks.

The projected mediators are retired bankruptcy judge Shelley Chapman, who brokered a erstwhile woody nether which nan Sacklers agreed to salary up to $6 cardinal to settee nan opioid lawsuits, and mediator Eric Green.

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If mediation fails, Purdue has said a court-appointed committee representing its creditors should beryllium allowed to writer nan Sacklers complete claims that they drained complete $11 cardinal from nan institution and that their behaviour made Purdue liable for different lawsuits.

The Sacklers person said nan creditors’ projected litigation is counterproductive and based connected “factual errors.”

Lawsuits against Purdue and Sackler family members by authorities and section governments, arsenic good arsenic individual plaintiffs, person accused them of fueling nan opioid pandemic done deceptive trading of its symptom medication. The institution pleaded blameworthy to misbranding and fraud charges related to its trading of OxyContin successful 2007 and 2020.

Purdue and members of nan Sackler family person expressed optimism that a caller colony tin beryllium reached aft nan Supreme Court ruling. The erstwhile woody was supported by attorneys wide from each 50 states, arsenic good arsenic section governments and a ample mostly of nan individual opioid victims who voted connected it.

Members of nan Sackler family person denied wrongdoing but expressed regret that OxyContin “unexpectedly became portion of an opioid crisis.”

(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)