Members of the billionaire Sackler family have sweetened their cash offers to settle thousands of opioid-related lawsuits against them and their company, Purdue Pharma. report filed Friday afternoon with the bankruptcy court.
But the deal is not done. The Sacklers have not deviated from the line they drew in the sand at the beginning of the case. In return for their billions, they continue to demand that all civil claims against them related to Purdue and opioids be stopped and that such claims be banned in the future.
Legal experts and the public have criticized attempts by the Sackler family to seek personal protection from liability. It’s a shield typically awarded to companies seeking bankruptcy restructuring, such as Purdue, but rarely extended to owners who don’t file for bankruptcy in person. Eight states and the District of Columbia refused to sign an earlier proposal because of the Sackler liability shields.
The mediator, Judge Shelley Chapman, a federal bankruptcy judge, said in her report that a “super majority” of those states had now agreed to the new offer. But holdouts remain and the deal isn’t done yet.
The earlier offer included a commitment from the Sacklers of $4.55 billion, including a $225 million federal settlement, to be paid over approximately nine years. Under the new offer, the Sacklers would pay a total of $5.5 billion, with an additional contribution of up to $500 million depending on the sale of their international pharmaceutical businesses. The Sacklers would have 18 years to pay the extra $1 billion.
The bankruptcy plan requires that the Sackler money, plus billions more from Purdue, be given to state, municipal, and tribal funds committed to treating and preventing opioid addiction, as well as compensating victims.
Known as “the Nine,” the stragglers, which include Connecticut, Washington, California and Maryland, have been sitting at the mediation table with Purdue and the Sacklers since January.
As negotiations continue, a stay of all lawsuits against both Purdue and the Sacklers, in effect since September 2019, was extended this week and now expires March 3.
A representative of a branch of the family, descendants of Mortimer Sackler, declined to comment; representatives of another branch, descendants of Raymond Sackler, did not respond to a request for comment.
Judge Chapman has requested an extension of the mediation deadline to February 28. She noted that the “unanimous acceptance” needed by the Sacklers has not yet been achieved, and suggested that further talks could achieve that goal or make another set of plans. that would not require unanimity.
Meanwhile, Purdue, whose plan was rejected in December by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon, is appealing to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The pleadings are expected in April.
Purdue released a statement saying: “We remain focused on achieving our goal of providing the American people with urgently needed funds to fight the opioid crisis. We believe a global settlement is the fastest and most cost-effective way out of Chapter 11, and we will continue to work to reach consensus as we proceed with the appeals process with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.”