MURDERERS ROW –
Nov. 14, 2025 – In thousands of lawsuits, Purdue and members of the Sackler family were later accused of aggressively marketing OxyContin, while misleading doctors and patients over its addiction and overdose risks. Purdue pleaded guilty in 2020 in a separate criminal case brought by the Department of Justice.
But that agreement did not address lawsuits brought by local, state, Native American tribal governments and others, which had helped to precipitate the bankruptcy.
A previous settlement, which the Supreme Court struck down last year, would have shielded members of the Sackler family from future civil lawsuits over their role in fuelling the opioid crisis.
The nation’s top court ruled that granting such protections to the Sacklers, who did not themselves declare bankruptcy, was not authorised under law. The latest $7.4bn deal does not grant the Sacklers immunity from future opioid-related lawsuits.
Members of the Sackler family are now poised to contribute between $6.5bn and $7bn as part of the agreement. They have long denied wrongdoing.
Some individuals voiced objections to the deal during an earlier bankruptcy hearing, arguing it did not go far enough to compensate victims directly. Individual victims are expected to receive up to $865mn.
