Posted by : ZeroRisk Cases Marketing

At a hearing held on April 29, 2022, a six-member panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York was asked by lawyers representing OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma to approve the bankruptcy plan submitted earlier in the year, currently estimated to be worth between $5.5 and 6 billion.  In addition to contributing billions over time to be used to mitigate the effects of the opioid crisis, an estimated $750 million of the settlement will go to individual victims and their families.

The key issue before the panel is whether the Bankruptcy Court has the authority to grant immunity from civil lawsuits to members of the Sackler family who, as managers of the drug company, have been blamed for their roles in the ongoing opioid crisis.

The approval process for the deal has been a long one. An earlier version of the plan worth approximately $4.3 billion and approved by Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in September, 2021 was overturned in December, 2021 by Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, who stated that the bankruptcy code did not give Judge Drain the authority to release the Sackler family from liability in civil opioid-related litigation.  Purdue appealed Judge McMahon’s decision, resulting in the issue coming before the Appeals Court.

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