FILE – The U.S. Supreme Court docket is seen, July 13, 2023, in Washington. AP Photograph/Mariam Zuhaib, File
By MARK SHERMAN, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court docket on Thursday quickly blocked a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that might defend members of the Sackler household who personal the corporate from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids.
The justices agreed to a request from the Biden administration to place the brakes on an settlement reached final yr with state and native governments. As well as, the excessive court docket will hear arguments earlier than the top of the yr over whether or not the settlement can proceed.
The deal would enable the corporate to emerge from chapter as a distinct entity, with its earnings used to struggle the opioid epidemic. Members of the Sackler household would contribute as much as $6 billion.
However a key element of the settlement would defend relations, who will not be in search of chapter safety as people, from lawsuits.
The U.S. Chapter Trustee, represented by the Justice Division, opposes releasing the Sackler household from authorized legal responsibility.
The justices directed the events to handle whether or not chapter legislation authorizes a blanket defend from lawsuits filed by all opioid victims.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court docket of Appeals had allowed the reorganization plan to proceed.
Legal professionals for Purdue and different events to the settlement had urged the justices to remain out of the case. “It is a baseless keep utility that, if granted, would hurt victims and needlessly delay the distribution of billions of {dollars} to abate the opioid disaster,” Purdue’s legal professionals wrote.
Ed Neiger, a lawyer representing particular person victims of the opioid disaster who can be in line for a chunk of the settlement, stated it was a disappointment that they must wait longer for any compensation but in addition praised the court docket for agreeing to listen to the case so quickly. “They clearly see the urgency of the matter,” he stated.
One other group of principally dad and mom of people that died from opioid overdoses has referred to as for the settlement to not be accepted.
Opioids have been linked to greater than 70,000 deadly overdoses yearly within the U.S. lately. Most of these are from fentanyl and different artificial medicine. However the disaster widened within the early 2000s as OxyContin and different highly effective prescription painkillers grew to become prevalent.
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Related Press author Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
