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Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Transcripts Collection

  
Date Range: September 2019 – April 2022

Overview and Background

Purdue Pharma is a privately held pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The Sackler family purchased Purdue in 1952. In 1996, Purdue started manufacturing and marketing the prescription opioid OxyContin, which has generated more than $30 billion in sales revenue. In 2007 and 2020, Purdue pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges based on illegal conduct regarding the marketing and sale of OxyContin.

Purdue filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding in September 2019 to resolve thousands of opioid-related lawsuits. The Bankruptcy Court confirmed the plan in September 2021. The District Court vacated the plan in December 2021, following an appeal by multiple parties, including the United States Trustee and several states. The District Court concluded that the Bankruptcy Court had lacked statutory authority to impose non-consensual third-party releases in favor of the Sacklers. Purdue appealed that ruling to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals; the Second Circuit heard arguments on April 29, 2022. On May 30, 2023, the Second Circuit reversed the District Court’s ruling and affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s approval of the plan. The Supreme Court temporarily paused the bankruptcy deal on August 10, 2023, following the Department of Justice’s challenge to the legality of the settlement. The Court heard arguments in December 2023 on whether U.S. bankruptcy law allows Purdue’s restructuring to include legal protections for members of the Sackler family, who have not filed for personal bankruptcy. In June 2024 the US Supreme Court ruled against the proposed bankruptcy settlement for Purdue Pharma.

Documents

The documents in this collection consist of 51 transcripts of hearings conducted in Purdue’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, dated September 2019 to April 2022. It also includes the Bankruptcy Court hearings on the confirmation of Purdue’s Chapter 11 plan, approved on September 17, 2021, as well as transcripts from the hearings of the appeals of the confirmed plan before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Many of the early hearings concern Purdue’s ability to sell property and pay debts, including to consultants, and Purdue’s employee benefit plans. The Notices of Agenda for the hearings and all filings made in the case are available at: https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/purduepharma/.

Opioid Industry Documents Archive team members have not performed or commissioned any redactions on these documents.



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