By Lawrence Pacheco
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced this week that a bipartisan coalition of states and other parties have reached a $7.4 billion settlement in principle with members of the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma for their central role in creating the opioid crisis.
Purdue invented, manufactured, and aggressively marketed opioids for decades, fueling waves of addiction and overdose deaths across the country. The settlement ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States. Moreover, it will deliver funding to communities across the country over the next 15 years to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery programs. The $7.4 billion settlement in principle, the nation’s largest settlement to date with individuals responsible for contributing to the opioid crisis, comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a prior multistate settlement with the Sacklers and Purdue in June 2024.
“The first lawsuit I filed to hold a drug maker accountable for creating and fueling the opioid crisis was against Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers in July 2019. That’s because Purdue and the Sacklers profited off fueling a devastating opioid crisis that has greatly harmed communities and families across Colorado. After years of litigation, the Sacklers and their company are finally being held accountable for their wrongful conduct, and the funds we are securing will go to communities responding to the opioid crisis and working to prevent addiction and overdoses,” said Weiser.
If approved, the settlement will deliver funds to the participating states, local governments, affected individuals, and other parties who have previously sued the Sacklers or Purdue. A significant amount of the settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years, with the Sacklers paying $1.5 billion and Purdue paying nearly $900 million in the first payment, followed by $500 million after one year, an additional $500 million after two years, and $400 million after three years. Colorado will receive approximately $81 million from the settlement, bringing the total amount of opioid settlement funds Weiser has secured for the state to $868 million.
A board of trustees selected by participating states in consultation with the other creditors will determine the future of the company. Purdue will continue to be overseen by a monitor and will be prevented from lobbying or marketing opioids under the settlement.
If approved, the settlement will make public more than 30 million documents related to Purdue and the Sacklers’ opioid business. The document repository will now also contain documents relating to compliance with the 2007 state attorneys general consent judgments, and after six years will make public documents subject to the waiver of privilege.
In 2021, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved a multistate settlement covering Purdue and the Sackler family that would have required them to pay more than $5.5 billion. In June 2024, the Supreme Court invalidated the bankruptcy settlement with the Sacklers, holding that they were not entitled to a blanket or automatic shield from liability. The current settlement in principle does not offer the Sacklers any such automatic protection, but rather is built on consensual releases in exchange for the payments the Sacklers will be making.
Others joining in securing the settlement in principle are the attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Lawrence Pacheco is Chief Communications Officer with the Attorney General’s office.