AG: Opioid profits looted by owners
Brnovich urges court to help get OxyContin cash
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says the family that owns the company behind the painkiller OxyContin is looting the business and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to help claw back money paid to the group of relatives amid mounting lawsuits.
Several states and local governments accuse Purdue Pharma of fraudulently downplaying the risks of addiction associated with OxyContin, even as prescription opioids fueled a public health crisis.
Purdue’s leaders have suggested the company might file for bankruptcy amid the series of ongoing court actions.
But in a lawsuit filed with the nation’s highest court on Wednesday, Arizona’s attorney general says Purdue
transferred more than $4 billion between 2008 and 2016 to members of the Sackler family, who own it. The lawsuit also says the company has transferred billions of dollars to other businesses run by the Sacklers.
The lawsuit argues those transfers threaten Purdue’s ability to pay judgments that governments may win through lawsuits.
“It is unconscionable that companies responsible for fueling this crisis might escape paying restitution to victims by transferring billions of dollars made on opioid sales to company owners and then possibly filing for bankruptcy,” Brnovich said in a statement.
More than 400 deaths across Arizona in 2017 were connected to prescription opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gov. Doug Ducey declared a public health emergency on opioids that year, and legislators adopted a plan to address the issue in a special session, bringing more scrutiny to prescribing practices by doctors and promoting Naloxone to reverse the effects of overdoses, among other steps.
Brnovich’s lawsuit asks the U.S. Supreme Court to declare the transfers void and to try to garnish money paid to the family as well as their businesses.
The attorney general names eight members of the Sackler family — Richard Sackler, Theresa Sackler, Kathe Sackler, Jonathan Sackler, Beverly Sackler, David Sackler, Mortimer D.A. Sackler and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt.
A spokesperson for the family members said, “We strongly deny these allegations, which are inconsistent with the factual record, and will vigorously defend against them.”
It is unusual to file such a suit directly with the country’s highest court.
Brnovich, a Republican, argues the U.S. Supreme Court should intervene because addiction to opioids has reached a level of national importance, with Purdue facing lawsuits from multiple states.
But in a statement, Purdue said the high court is the improper forum for Arizona’s claims.
“This petition was filed solely for the purpose of leapfrogging other similar lawsuits, and we expect the Court will see it as such,” the company said.
Brnovich also filed in state court on Wednesday to add members of the Sackler family to a 2018 lawsuit against Purdue that alleges the company violated a previous agreement on marketing painkillers.
The moves from the attorney general come as government officials and activists focus on the Sackler family and the fortune it built on the drug company.
Activists have brought attention to the Sacklers’ patronage of major artistic and cultural institutions, taking protests directly to museums that have benefited from the family’s support and prompting some to swear off future donations.