Victims Hit Long Wait For Oxycontin's Cash Settlement

More than a year after OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma reached a tentative settlement over the toll of opioids that was accepted nearly universally by the groups suing the company — including thousands of people injured by the drug — money is still not rolling out, Geoff Mulvihill reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The Purdue Pharma headquarters

Parties waiting to finalize the deal are waiting for a court to rule on the legality of a key detail: Whether or not members of the Sackler family who own the company can be protected from lawsuits over OxyContin in exchange for handing over up to $6 billion in cash over time plus the company itself.

This week — days before the one-year anniversary of the April 29, 2022, appeals court arguments on the matter — lawyers told judges that the wait is causing problems.

Lawyers on multiple sides of the case, including those representing Purdue, asked the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to issue a ruling or provide an update soon, saying the efforts to use the funds to fight the opioid crisis can’t begin until the money can start to flow.

While it’s not unusual for an appeals panel to take a year or more from a hearing until it releases a decision, this case was originally fast-tracked by the court. At the hearing last year, there were signs that the three-judge panel might not rule unanimously.

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