Purdue claims total more than $2T
STAMFORD — U.S. states’ claims in Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy case total approximately $2.2 trillion.
Any settlement amount reached with the company, however, will likely be for far less. The company in a statement this week has reiterated Purdue’s settlement offer, which it values at more than $10 billion. A potential cash payout of at least $3 billion by the Sackler family members who own the company would be part of the settlement.
“It’s unlikely that the states are going to receive the full amounts that they’re claiming, but it signals a commitment that they’re going to see this through,” said Robert Bird, a professor of business law at the University of Connecticut. “We’ve seen an increasing public awareness of the harms of opioids, and there’s increasing public opinion that Purdue Pharma and companies like it will pay some of the bill. As a result, states have little incentive not to go forward and ask for these amounts. These amounts frame the negotiations and show they’re in this for the long haul.”
The filings suggest the toll of the epidemic that the states would try to tackle with settlement funds. Opioids were involved in nearly 47,000 overdose deaths in 2018, according to federal data — with two out of three involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. The approximately 3,000 local and state complaints against Purdue that have been consolidated in the bankruptcy proceedings argue that many of those fatalities were preceded by addiction and abuse of prescription opioids like OxyContin.
Nearly every state and U.S. territory, as well as the District of Columbia, has submitted claims. Oklahoma is the exception, having last year reached a $270 million settlement with Purdue.
Connecticut’s claims amount to nearly $51 billion, compared with top-end totals of $192 billion for California, $166 billion for New York state and $130 billion for Florida.
“While today’s filing may lay out the monetary impact that Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family have had on the United States, this financial toll only accounts for a sliver of the damage inflicted on the American people,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Monday. “The millions of families that have suffered as the result of addiction, ailments and death can never be repaid for their losses, and no amount of money can ever compensate the pain that so many now know.”
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong declined to comment.
Purdue and the Sacklers who own Purdue have denied the allegations against the company.
Connecticut comprises one of 24 states that have not accepted Purdue’s settlement offer. Tong has argued that the Sacklers — whose family net worth was estimated at $13 billion by Forbes in 2016 — can afford to contribute much more.
Any settlement would also cover claims against the company from those who believe they or their loved ones were harmed by Purdue’s opioids. About 106,000 have filed personal-injury forms.
In addition to the states’ claims, U.S. Department of Justice officials are reportedly seeking up to $18 billion from the company, in connection with criminal and civil probes.