Sacklers increase settlement offer in Purdue opioid case, with new condition

Seven months after the Supreme Court overturned a deal that would have resolved thousands of opioid cases against Purdue Pharma, the company’s owners, members of the Sackler family, have increased their cash offer to settle the litigation – but with a new trap.

Under a new agreement, the Sacklers would not receive immunity from future opioid-related lawsuits, a condition they had long insisted on but which the court found unconscionable.

Instead, they would pay up to $6.5 billion, $500 million more than the previous deal, but with one new condition: Claimants, including states, municipalities and individuals, should set aside up to $800 million in an account similar to a legal account. -a defense fund for billionaires to fight such cases, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Some details of the framework — but not the legal defense fund — were announced Thursday by New York Attorney General Letitia James. She said the overall settlement was $7.4 billion, including $897 million from Purdue.

New York could receive up to $250 million, she said.

“The Sackler family relentlessly pursued profit at the expense of vulnerable patients and played a critical role in starting and fueling the opioid epidemic,” Ms James said.

When the deal is finalized, she added, the Sacklers “will no longer have control of Purdue and will never again be allowed to sell opioids in the United States.”