A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday puts in jeopardy up to $95 million Connecticut would have received of the total $6 billion in settlement money from Purdue Pharma — the maker of OxyContin — for its role in the opioid epidemic. Those funds were contingent on Purdue’s bankruptcy plan being approved.
Despite the delay in funding programs that help prevent fatal overdoses, several families affected welcomed the court’s decision.
“They can't just buy their way out of it because they have the money to,” said John Lally of Enfield, a member of the state’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee in charge of allocating the funds. “My son, Timothy, he started with prescription pills, he wound up on heroin and overdosed one day and died. I feel it personally, certainly I want the Sacklers to be held responsible.”
Dita Bhargava, an ambassador for Shatterproof, said the U.S. has lost more than a million people, including her son Alec, to opioid overdoses.
“The blood of these victims is on the hands of the Sackler family who deceived the public on the addictive nature of opioids and flooded our communities with them because of greed,” she said. “The Sacklers heartlessly stigmatized people with substance use disorder and blamed them for the demand to justify their profiteering. This level of corporate irresponsibility is the equivalent of murder in my eyes and many grieving parents like me.”
State Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee member Christine Gagnon lost her son, Michael, to an overdose. "I am thrilled that SCOTUS rejected the nationwide settlement that protected the Sackler family personally," she said. "It is a great day and another chance to ultimately hold the Sackler family responsible for their carnage on the American people."
In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that in 2007 a Purdue affiliate pleaded guilty to federal felony for misbranding OxyContin as “less addictive” and “less subject to abuse” than other pain medications.
Between 2008 and 2016, Purdue distributed $11 billion to the Sacklers, draining its assets and moving funds to overseas accounts.
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
“This decision is a definitive rebuke of the Sackler family's abuse of the bankruptcy code,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. “The Supreme Court got it right. Billionaire wrongdoers should not be allowed to shield blood money in bankruptcy court.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut said he expects strong re-negotiations by states.
“My hope is that there will be larger relief, more fair and just settlement for the victims of wrongdoing,” he said.
Alec’s mother, Bhargava, emphasized the urgency.
“The resources are needed now, today, while we lose over 300 lives every day to overdose,” she said.
