Blumenthal Statement on the Supreme Court's Decision Blocking Purdue Pharma Settlement

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement today after the Supreme Court rejected a bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma that would have authorized a liability shield for the Sackler family from lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis:

“Under the Sacklers, Purdue Pharma destroyed lives and ravaged communities. Justice requires that the Sacklers and others who break the law be barred from using bankruptcy as a shield from responsibility. The plain fact is these victims direly need justice as soon as possible, and my hope is that their long-awaited and deeply deserved just remedies will be provided as soon as possible. The Sacklers are directly to blame for the delay in compensation to victims by their refusal to acknowledge accountability and their creation of needless obstacles. I will continue to fight for bankruptcy reform so that injustices in the current bankruptcy law will be corrected.”

Blumenthal previously introduced federal legislation to close the loophole in bankruptcy law that allows individuals who have engaged in wrongdoing to evade accountability through bankruptcy proceedings. The Stop Shielding Assets from Corporate Known Liability by Eliminating Non-Debtor Releases (SACKLER) Act restricts the use of this loophole that allows individuals who have not filed for bankruptcy to nonetheless be released from lawsuits brought by states, Tribes, municipalities, or the U.S. government.

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