Purdue's Bankruptcy Protection May Affect Opioid Plaintiffs

Purdue's Bankruptcy Protection May Affect Opioid Plaintiffs

Introduction

An email was sent across on Saturday by two state attorneys general, Tennessee Republican Herbert Slatery and North Carolina Democrat Josh Stein, who are directly involved in the negotiations with the maker of OxyContin and the Sackler family, stating that they expect Purdue to file for bankruptcy protection imminently.

Billions of dollars have been sought from Purdue Pharma by state and local governments as a way to confine the company and the family that owns it accountable for the nation’s opioid epidemic. The potential payout now seems to be messier after state attorneys general said settlement talks had broken down.

The bankruptcy would likely take Purdue out of the first federal trial over the opioid crisis, scheduled to start Oct. 21. Purdue said that it wants to make a settlement deal to resolve all state and local government claims against it but has recently indicated to file for bankruptcy protection, which would make a major shift in multidistrict litigation.

Earlier, on July 8, 2019, Oklahoma District Judge Thad Balkman denied Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) request to dismiss the opioid lawsuit due to lack of evidence.

A motion was filed last week by J&J to seek dismissal of the lawsuit claiming that the state failed to produce enough evidence to support its case. Both the parties were given an hour before the decision was rendered. J&J's lawyers said the nuisance law in the state did not apply, while the attorneys representing the state said that the defendants and their attorneys acted in a reprehensible manner.

According to Judge Balkman, the trial that began seven weeks ago, should continue and is expected to go on until late this month. Considering the evidence presented by the State, the judge determined there is sufficient evidence against the defendants, hence denied the motion for directed judgment.

Opioid lawsuits are consolidated under MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation) which is presided by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster.