Supreme Court rejects liability shield in Center of Purdue Pharma settlement
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that members of the wealthy Sackler family cannot be protected from lawsuits over their role in the opioid crisis as part of a bankruptcy settlement that would net billions of dollars to victims and their families.In a 5-4 decision, written by Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, the majority of justices found that the federal bankruptcy code does not authorize a third-party liability shield in bankruptcy settlements. Justice Gorsuch was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.In a strongly worded dissent, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote that “the decision is wrong as a matter of law and is devastating for more than 100,000 opioid victims and their families.” He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts...