Ahead of a bankruptcy court hearing to approve a $6 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma for its role in the opioid crisis, dozens of towns and counties argue the deal should be rejected because it provides “hush money” to a handful of states that negotiated the revised terms.
The issued was raised after the Sackler family members who own Purdue Pharma last week agreed to increase the payout to settle a hotly contested bankruptcy plan that would compensate governments and tens of thousands of individuals affected by the crisis. An earlier version of the settlement called for the Sacklers family members to pay $4.3 billion. A two-day hearing gets under way on Wednesday afternoon.
But numerous towns — mostly based in New York and New Jersey — and several states noted that a portion of the additional payment will fund a new trust for the exclusive benefit of several states that worked to increase the payout. Those states had argued the $4.3 billion payout was insufficient, given that a provision of the plan grants immunity to some of the Sacklers and hundreds of their associates.
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