Attorney General James’ Statement on Federal Court Order Regarding Purdue Pharma Settlement

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James tonight released the following statement after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a settlement with opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma and the family that owns the company — the Sacklers:

“For more than two decades, Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers dealt in death and destruction, callously pushing opioids on the American people with no regard for the tens of millions of addictions and hundreds of thousands of deaths they were causing. 

“Earlier this year, we negotiated an agreement that would shut down Purdue Pharma and ban the Sacklers from ever making another opioid again, in addition to guaranteeing up to $4.5 billion in payments. 

“The appellate court will now make a determination as to whether this plan will be confirmed, but make no mistake, Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family remain named defendants in our ongoing litigation and we will hold them accountable for their unlawful behavior, one way or another. 

“We will get justice for the American people.”