Ahead of a bankruptcy court hearing to approve a $6 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma for its role in the opioid crisis, dozens of towns and counties argue the deal should be rejected because it provides “hush money” to a handful of states that negotiated the revised terms.
The issued was raised after the Sackler family members who own Purdue Pharma last week agreed to increase the payout to settle a hotly contested bankruptcy plan that would compensate governments and tens of thousands of individuals affected by the crisis. An earlier version of the settlement called for the Sacklers family members to pay $4.3 billion. A two-day hearing gets under way on Wednesday afternoon.