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Jun 2, 2004 · Attorney Neil Sacker was charged with two counts and could be incarcerated for a year. ... five law firms of record in a class-action lawsuit in San Diego County Superior Court against El Paso ...
Dec 4, 2023 · As part of the proposed deal, which the Supreme Court put on hold in August, the Sackler family had agreed to pay around $6 billion that could be used to settle opioid-related claims, but only in ...
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Dec 17, 2021 · A federal judge has overturned a bankruptcy settlement worth more than $4 billion which granted immunity from opioid lawsuits to members of the Sackler family who own the company that makes Oxycontin.
- Overview
- The Purdue Pharma bankruptcy
- Division among the justices
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday grappled with whether to uphold a bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma over objections from the Biden administration about the broad legal protections it grants the Sackler family from civil lawsuits related to their role in the opioid epidemic.
At the heart of the dispute is a provision in the plan that releases the Sackler family and related entities from civil liability for the opioid epidemic, which was fueled in part by the Purdue-manufactured drug OxyContin. The Sacklers owned and operated Purdue during the height of the opioid crisis.
Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019, and the Sacklers, who did not seek bankruptcy protection, agreed to contribute $6 billion for abatement of the opioid crisis in exchange for the legal shield.
The Biden administration and a small group of victims who object to the bankruptcy plan argued that these third-party releases are not allowed under the bankruptcy code. But at Monday's oral arguments in the case, known as Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., several Supreme Court justices raised concerns about the ramifications of a decision unraveling Purdue's agreement, particularly for victims who stand to benefit from the settlement.
"We have 30 years of bankruptcy court practice that have approved releases of this kind in certain narrow circumstances," Justice Brett Kavanaugh told Curtis Gannon, a deputy solicitor general who argued on behalf of the Biden administration.
Kavanaugh and Justice Elena Kagan noted that the bankruptcy plan was approved overwhelmingly by victims of the opioid crisis and those who lost loved ones to overdoses. They filed lawsuits against Purdue before the company filed for bankruptcy protection and now may be eligible to receive between $3,500 and $48,000 in compensation through the settlement agreement.
Purdue sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2019 after scores of states, local governments, Native American tribes and victims filed lawsuits against the company seeking damages arising from its manufacture and sale of OxyContin. Purdue separately pleaded guilty in 2007 to a felony count of misbranding OxyContin and has paid more than $600 million in fines and other costs.
As part of a settlement negotiated with claimants, the Sacklers agreed to contribute more than $4 billion across a decade — an amount that ultimately rose to $6 billion — to fund efforts to fight the opioid crisis. The settlement also includes $750 million to compensate victims, and requires millions of documents to be made public. Purdue would restructure itself as a public benefit company, with its profits used to make products that combat opioid addiction.
In exchange, the plan included the release that shields the Sacklers from civil lawsuits stemming from the opioid crisis. The family would also potentially be able to keep billions of dollars in revenue from Purdue that was distributed between 2008 and 2017, according to court filings. Gregory Garre, a lawyer who argued on behalf of Purdue, told the justices that 40% of that money went to taxes.
The bankruptcy plan was approved by 95% of victims. However, several states, Canadian municipalities and indigenous tribes, plus more than 2,600 individuals, voted against it because of the legal protections for the Sackler family, their affiliates and related entities.
A bankruptcy court in New York approved the plan in September 2021, though the states and other detractors challenged that approval in a federal district court in New York. Joined by the U.S. Trustee, the opponents focused on whether dissenters from federal bankruptcy agreements can be bound by releases that shield entities that have not declared bankruptcy themselves, like the Sacklers.
A federal district court said bankruptcy courts do not have the authority to approve such releases, and in December 2021 it rejected the plan.
During nearly two hours of arguments, the justices appeared split on whether the holdouts who refused to approve the deal should be bound by the release and therefore unable to pursue their own claims against the Sacklers.
Justice Neil Gorsuch repeatedly raised constitutional concerns over the inability of the plan's dissenters to hold the Sackler family accountable in civil court.
"We don't normally say that a nonconsenting party can have its claim for property eliminated in this fashion without consent or any process of court other than the procedure here," he told Garre. "This would defy what we do in class-action context, would raise serious due process concerns and 7th Amendment concerns. … You're normally entitled to a jury."
Several of the justices acknowledged that the Sacklers are benefitting from bankruptcy protection without having declared bankruptcy, after funneling billions of dollars in profits from Purdue.
"Most of the assets we're talking about were originally in the company, and that they actually took the assets from the company, which started the set of circumstances in which the company now doesn't have enough money to pay the creditors," Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said.
Kagan noted the "fundamental bargain" in bankruptcy law, namely that the debtor receives a discharge when all assets are put "on the table" to be divided up among creditors.
- Politics Reporter, Cbsnews.Com
- 2 min
- CBS News
Jan 14, 2022 · By Dominic Patten. January 14, 2022 11:28am. Sackler. EXCLUSIVE: Neil Sacker has put up a new legal shingle in town. The former Miramax EVP has founded Sacker Entertainment Law Firm. Joining the ...
- Dominic Patten
Dec 3, 2023 · The court will decide whether Purdue’s owners can gain permanent immunity from future opioid lawsuits in exchange for payments up to $6 billion. From left: Tiffinee Scott, Dede Yoder and Cheryl ...
Mar 2, 2006 · He said the lawsuit reinforced a pattern by Ms. Schulman of "deceitful and litigious behavior." A lawyer for Mr. Yari, Neil Sacker, who is also a defendant in Ms. Schulman's lawsuit, denied that ...
