• Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family will pay $7.4 billion for their role in the opioid epidemic.
• Delaware will receive over $27 million from the settlement.
• The settlement comes just shy of a year after the Supreme Court upended the high-profile bankruptcy settlement with the makers of oxycontin, which threw settlements into limbo.

A settlement reached with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma will bring over $27 million to the First State, roughly half of what was originally anticipated before a Supreme Court decision put settlement funds in limbo last year. 

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings on Thursday announced a $7.4 billion settlement with members of the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma Inc., for their “instrumental role in creating the opioid crisis.” 

The First State is poised to receive over $27 million from the settlement.  

“This is a bittersweet moment for everyone who has continued to fight to hold the Sacklers and Purdue accountable,” Jennings said in a news release. “Nothing can bring back what we’ve lost – but, if approved, this agreement would deliver over $27 million to Delawareans right away.” 

Last year, the Supreme Court upended the high-profile bankruptcy settlement with the makers of oxycontin and toppled an agreement that shielded the Sackler family from responsibility for future damages to victims of the opioid epidemic. During those earlier talks, Delaware had estimated receiving nearly $50 million from the settlement. 

The 5-4 decision Supreme Court decision blocked a negotiated bankruptcy settlement the Sacklers had reached to pay victims $6 billion and avoid future litigation.   

SUPREME COURT IMPACT: Delaware back to ‘square one’ in opioid settlement fund talks with Sackler family

While most victims supported the settlement with Purdue, the Justice Department stepped in, questioning whether the courts could shield the Sacklers from future civil lawsuits − a practice that has been used in major bankruptcies dealing with harms caused by asbestos and silicone breast implants, USA TODAY reported in June.  

The renegotiated settlement is the nation’s largest settlement to date with individuals responsible for contributing to the opioid crisis. 

The Sackler history 

The Sackler family made its fortune selling Oxycontin, a drug that fueled the nation’s opioid epidemic, through their company Purdue Pharma.  

Under the family’s leadership, Purdue “invented, manufactured, and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling waves of addiction and overdose deaths across the country,” according to the release.  

SACKLER DONATIONS: Why the University of Delaware still takes money from the family behind OxyContin

If the latest settlement is approved, it will make public over 30 million documents related to the company and the Sacklers’ opioid business. 

The settlement 

In addition to the money to those harmed by the opioid epidemic, the settlement also ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and “bars them from selling opioids in the United States.” 

A board of trustees – selected by “participating states in consultation with the other creditors – will determine Purdue’s future. The company will be overseen by a monitor and will be unable to market opioids.    

Delaware will receive over $27 million immediately, according to the state Department of Justice. The prior agreement would have “deferred payments” over 18 years.  

Justice Department officials said in the release that the immediate payment protects against the Sacklers not paying, while also ensuring Delaware can address the crisis right away. 

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-598-5507. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.