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,
according to Edward Neiger, a Manhattan-based attorney who represents the group.
Private citizens’ claims would be handled alongside the approximately 3,000 lawsuits filed
against Purdue by local and state governments that allege the company fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive OxyContin marketing. Purdue denies those accusations.
The individual payouts would not change the total settlement value, which Purdue has pegged at more than $10 billion. The total amount paid out to individuals
would be determined through the bankruptcy process.
About two-dozen states have accepted the company’s proposed settlement, which was announced when the company filed for bankruptcy last September.
Any comprehensive settlement would also require the support of the non-consenting states.
Tong has expressed doubts about the feasibility of Purdue’s plan and said it does not go far enough to tackle the opioid crisis. He has not said publicly how much he thinks the company should pay.