The justices struggled to decide whether to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the multi-billion dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal--a deal meant to compensate victims of OxyContin.
Under the deal, Purdue agreed it owed $8 billion in criminal and civil fines. That deal is at the center of Monday's case because it releases the Sacklers from personal liability.
Supreme Court's decision to review the controversial bankruptcy deal involving the maker of Oxycontin means the settlement will remain on hold at least through December.
Under the latest proposal, the Sacklers would contribute between $5.5 billion and $6 billion, an increase from the $4.3 billion they had agreed to earlier.
The DOJ is seeking to block implementation of any part of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal until legal challenges are settled. The deal granted Sackler family members immunity from opioid lawsuits.
The Purdue Pharma bankruptcy process has focused on financial compensation to creditors, but court records include heartrending personal letters from families ravaged by Oxycontin.
Two divisions of the DOJ argue the deal improperly shelters members of the Sackler family and their associates from liability. States are finalizing a separate deal with other opioid companies.
Massachusetts and New York are among the states agreeing to end the fight to halt a controversial Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan. The deal shelters members of the Sackler family from opioid lawsuits.
Two dozen states had hoped to sue the owners of Purdue Pharma for their alleged role in the opioid crisis. But a federal bankruptcy has judge put the brakes on — again — until April 21.
Under a bankruptcy plan filed late Monday, the OxyContin maker would pay $500 million up front, promising billions in future payments. Twenty-four states rejected the proposal.
A new plea deal with the Justice Department is the second time the family-owned company admitted criminal schemes to boost Oxycontin sales. Despite their hands-on role, the Sacklers face no charges.
The controversial deal hashed out between the Department of Justice and the maker of Oxycontin provides hundreds of millions of dollars of relief for communities hit hard by the opioid epidemic.
Critics say the settlement doesn't hold company executives or members of the Sackler family accountable for their aggressive marketing of OxyContin, which helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic.
