U.S. Supreme Court ruling upends $183M opioid settlement payment for WA

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday derailed a $183 million payment to Washington that was part of a broader bankruptcy plan for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.

The deal involved the Sackler family, which owned and controlled the company, paying up to $6 billion to help states, cities, and tribes address the harms of the opioid addiction epidemic. But the court ruled 5-4 that a key element, shielding the family from related opioid lawsuits, was not allowed.

“The U.S. Supreme Court ruling today invalidated the bankruptcy plan,” Brionna Aho, a spokesperson for Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office said in an email. “This means that our $183 million settlement is invalidated too. No money was paid to Washington while this appeal was pending.”

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Ferguson applauded the ruling. “The Supreme Court was right to remove the shield blocking my office from holding the Sackler family directly responsible for their role fueling the opioid epidemic,” he said in a statement.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/u-s-supreme-court-ruling-upends-183m-opioid-settlement-payment-for-wa/