Press Releases
09/17/2021
Connecticut to Appeal Purdue Bankruptcy Plan
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong filed formal notice today with the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York that Connecticut will appeal a controversial and unprecedented decision that purports to extinguish Connecticut’s claims against both Purdue Pharma and the non-bankrupt Sackler family.“The Sacklers are not bankrupt. We cannot allow our bankruptcy laws to be abused and misused as a loophole for the rich and powerful to avoid justice and accountability. This decision was an unprecedented and unacceptable overreach by the bankruptcy court. Connecticut has filed notice that we will appeal and will continue to fight on behalf of the victims and families of the opioid epidemic until we see justice,” said Attorney General Tong.
Judge Robert Drain ruled earlier this month that he will approve a bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma that grants a lifetime legal shield to the Sackler family for civil opioid-related claims.
Purdue’s bankruptcy plan requires the Sackler family to pay $4.3 billion- though they are worth multiple times that amount- over nine years to help abate the opioid crisis they fueled. By the time they are finished paying this settlement, the Sacklers will be wealthier than they were when they started.
Attorney General Tong joined eight other attorneys general filing objections in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The objections note that the Sackler family made at least $11 billion in profits from producing and deceptively marketing OxyContin, a major driver in the rise of the opioid crisis and, importantly, the Sacker family is not bankrupt or even claiming bankruptcy. The crisis has cost the nation millions of lives and more than $2 trillion in damage.
Attorney General Tong testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law in July in support of bankruptcy reform.
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
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