Purdue claims deadline extended
Judge in bankruptcy case rules, allowing claims to be filed until July 30
STAMFORD — The judge overseeing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy case approved Wednesday a claimsfiling extension to July 30 for individuals who believe they were harmed by the company’s opioids.
Purdue and a 24- state “non- consenting” group including Connecticut that have not agreed to settlement terms with the firm concurred that the original June 30 deadline needed to be pushed back to take into account the disruption of the coronavirus crisis. Purdue had argued for the 30- day extension, while the non- consenting states pushed for a Sept. 30 deadline.
“The form and manner of notice of the extended general bar date as approved herein … in the form and manner as proposed by the debtors ( Purdue) herein is fair and reasonable and will provide good, sufficient and due notice to all creditors of their rights and obligations in connection with claims they may assert,” Judge Robert Drain said in the written order, after holding earlier Wednesday a phone hearing on the matter.
In a statement, Purdue said that the July 30 deadline “balances our compassion for anyone who may have been impacted by COVID- 19 shutdowns with the goal of providing the public benefits from a Purdue settlement as soon as possible.”
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said that “this is less than we had requested, but an important extension giving all who have been harmed by Purdue additional time to file claims and seek justice.”
After having allocated approximately $ 24 million for a national advertising campaign launched in February that has notified people about the claims filing, Purdue has estimated it would incur another $ 700,000 for the notices with a July 30 deadline.
As of May 21, approximately 6,800 personal- injury forms had been filed, while about 4,200 potential personal- injury claims had been filed with other forms, according to the Prime Clerk website that collects Purdue’s bankruptcy records. Connecticut accounted for 163 submissions.
In addition, more than 27,000 people represented by the Ad Hoc Group of Individual Victims are planning to file claims,
When restaurants were allowed to re- open in May, Wannapa’s restaurant told staff its closure was permanent.
“I never thought this would happen,” she said. “It’s like my heart got broken twice.”
Around the world, new virus safety rules mean restaurants and stores can’t hold as many people as they used to, so they can’t afford as much staff. Many can’t afford to reopen at all.
Bangkok’s restaurants are firing, not hiring, she said.
“I will have to go on and keep fighting,” she declared. “If there is any job that I can do, I will do it.”
Wannapa’s unemployment benefit can only tide her over for so long. She said if she can’t find work, she’ll have to return to her family’s rubber plantation to start life all over again.
Israeli programmer
When the coronavirus first broke out, Israeli software developer Itamar Lev was told to work from home. Then the online advertising company he worked for slashed his salary 20 percent. Finally, just as restrictions started to ease, he was fired.
Lev, 44, is among hundreds of thousands of Israelis out of a job as a result of the pandemic, more than 25 percent of the workforce.
“It was sudden. I wasn’t ready for it,” he said.
Tied to the American market, Lev’s company’s advertising revenue dried up and they had to make
cutbacks. Lev said he was treated respectfully, and sees himself as simply a victim of the times.
He is already preparing for interviews and confident he will find a new position soon. In a country versed in disruptions from wars and security threats, he said Israelis have built up a certain resilience to upheaval.
Still, he said this time feels different. His wife, a self- employed dance instructor, has also seen her income temporarily evaporate, forcing the couple to dig into their savings.
“The ‘ comeback’ is going to take longer,” said Lev, father of a 5year- old girl. “It’s a difficult period. We’re just going to have to take a deep breath and get through it.”
Kenyan cleaner
Perhaps hardest- hit by virus job losses are low- paid service workers like 54- year- old Awino, who lost her job after 15 years as a cleaner at one of Mother Teresa’s charities in Nairobi.
Awino shares a shack with her four daughters, including one who has epilepsy and requires costly medical care, and they share a communal toilet nearby. She hasn’t seen her husband in nine years.
Without her regular $ 150 monthly salary, she now buys raw chicken and fries it on the streets for sale.
“Ever since I was fired because of COVID- 19, I put all my efforts into my business,” she said.
Some days she earns more than what she was making at her old job, but it’s hard work, and unpredictable. City council and health
inspectors are known to raid informal street vendors, who are often arrested and have their goods confiscated.
Awino has no choice but to take the risk, and she’s not alone: Hundreds of thousands of Kenyans have also lost their jobs because of the pandemic.
Cloudy skies
On a global scale, the industry perhaps most vulnerable is aviation.
Germany’s Lufthansa is losing a million euros an hour, and its CEO estimates that when the pandemic is over it will need 10,000 fewer workers than it does now. Emirates President Tim Clark signaled it could take the Dubai- based airline four years to return to its full network of routes.
The ripple effect on jobs in tourism and hospitality sectors is massive.
Countries like the United Arab Emirates are home to millions of foreigners who far outnumber the local population - many of whom have lost their jobs. Their families in countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Philippines rely on their monthly remittances for survival.
Egyptian hotel chef Ramadan el- Sayed is among thousands sent home in March as the pandemic began to decimate Dubai’s tourism industry. He returned to his wife and three kids in the city of Sohag, about 310 miles south of Cairo. He has not been paid since April.
“There’s no work here at all,” he said. “Even tourism here is operating at 25 percent so who’s going to hire here?”
He sits idle, relying on his brother and father for support. He is hopeful the Marriott hotel where he worked will bring him back at the end of the summer when they plan to re- open.
“We are waiting, God willing,” el- Sayed said.
Long road ahead
So why aren’t all the jobs coming back, if economies are reopening?
Some companies that came into the recession in bad shape can no longer put off tough decisions. Meanwhile, even though reopened cities are filling anew with shoppers and commuters, many consumers remain wary about returning to old habits for fear of the virus.
“Some firms that were healthy before governments imposed shutdowns will go bankrupt, and it could take a long time for them to be replaced by new businesses,” Capital Economics said in a research note. “Other firms will delay or cancel investment.”
It estimates that a third of U. S. workers made jobless by the pandemic won’t find work within six months. And some European workers on generous governmentsubsidized furlough programs could get laid off when they expire, as companies like French carmaker Renault and plane maker Airbus face up to a bleaker future.
Holger Schmieding, economist at Berenberg Economics, warned: “The COVID- 19 pandemic and the ensuing mega- recession may shape political debates and choices for a long time.”