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Sackler family, Purdue Pharma to pay $7.4 billion to settle opioid case with CT, NY and other states

Attorney General William Tong.
Molly Ingram
/
WSHU
Attorney General William Tong.

Connecticut, New York and 13 other states have announced a tentative $7.4 billion settlement with the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, for their role in the opioid crisis.

The settlement comes seven months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a $6 billion offer from the Sackler family that the states had rejected.

CT Attorney General William Tong said it would require the family, which had sought relief in bankruptcy court, to pay $1.4 billion more.

“Under this settlement in principle, it still needs to get approved, the Sackler family will pay more money. They will pay a billion dollars more in cash,” he said.

However, Connecticut will receive about the same amount it would have in the earlier offer.

“The reason why we’ll get roughly the same amount of money is that we are electing to take our money sooner,” said Tong.

“So instead of waiting 18 years, we are going to get our money in less than half the time, in roughly eight years,” he said

The state will get $64 million from the settlement. The Sacklers would pay sixteen million dollars in the first year to help accelerate treatment, recovery and aid to opioid abuse victims.

New York is to get about $250 million.

Under the deal, the Sacklers would not be immune from future opioid lawsuits.

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year.