Purdue bankruptcy would make opioid cases messier

State and local governments have sought billions of dollars from Purdue P harm a as a way to hold the company and the family that owns it accountable for the nation's opioid epidemic, a potential payout that is now clouded in uncertainty after state attorneys general said settlement talks had broken down.

The attorneys general directly involved in the negotiations with the maker of OxyContin and the Sackler family said they anticipated Purdue filing soon for bankruptcy protection.

“It seems that there will be little money for plaintiffs, if Purdue takes bankruptcy and the Sack le rs are not kicking in any money for settlement,” said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.

Nearly every state and about 2,000 local governments have sued companies in the drug industry over the toll of opioids, which have been linked to more than 400,000 death sin the U.S. over the last two decades.

The suits cast Stamford, Connecticutbased Purdue as a particular villain, saying the company's marketing of its drugs downplayed addiction risks and led to more widespread opioid prescribing, even though only a sliver of the opioid pain killers sold in the U.S. were its products.

On Saturday, two state attorneys general leading settlement negotiations with the company— Tennessee Republican Herbert Slate ry and North Carolina Democrat Josh Stein—sent an email to their colleagues saying talks were at an impasse and that they “expect Purdue to file for bankruptcy protection imminently.”