Purdue Pharma opioid settlement secures final AG signatures

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced that 55 attorneys general, representing all eligible states and U.S. territories, have agreed to sign on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family.

The Sackler family has also informed the attorneys general of its plan to proceed with the settlement, which would resolve litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers for their role in creating and worsening the opioid crisis across the country.

Jennings and the Delaware Department of Justice negotiating team were instrumental in securing the multibillion-dollar settlement, the nation’s largest to date with individuals responsible for contributing to the opioid crisis. Now that the state sign-on period has concluded, local governments in Delaware and across the country will be asked to join the settlement, contingent on bankruptcy court proceedings. As with previous settlements, Jennings' team will liaise with each required subdivision to ensure that Delaware is able to receive the maximum amount of relief under the agreement.

“The opioid crisis hit Delaware harder than nearly any other state in America; no family had a greater hand in that desolation than the Sacklers,” said Jennings. “While this settlement closes the legal and financial battle, and enables our communities to continue lifesaving work reducing drug overdose fatalities, nothing will absolve the Sacklers of their moral debt to this country and to the innocents we have lost. We have crucial work ahead of us, and hope for a better future — but for the millions of Americans who have lost a loved one to the Sacklers’ greed, there is no moving on.”

Under the Sacklers’ ownership, Purdue made and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling the largest drug crisis in the nation’s history. The settlement ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States.

Communities across the country will directly receive funds to support addiction treatment, prevention and recovery. While most states will receive payments over 15 years, Delaware will receive its $27+ million share as a lump sum payment shortly after the settlement is finalized. Jennings’ efforts in extended negotiations previously helped increase the Sacklers’ payment to the states by $1 billion; her negotiations now have resulted in Delaware receiving the full economic benefit of its 2022 settlement in one upfront payment, rather than in deferred payments over the course of 15 years.

This settlement agreement replaces a prior multistate agreement that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned in June 2024. That prior settlement, which included up to a $6 billion contribution from the Sacklers, was also achieved due in substantial part to the advocacy of Jennings and a handful of other states that had objected to the $4.5 billion Sackler contribution initially approved by the bankruptcy court. The newly announced settlement includes a greater financial contribution from the Sacklers, preserves the economic benefit of Delaware’s prior deal, and further broadens the availability of additional monetary relief to all participating states.

Like prior opioid settlements, the settlement with Purdue and the Sacklers will involve resolution of legal claims by state and local governments. The local government sign-on and voting solicitation process for this settlement moving forward will be contingent on bankruptcy court approval. An upcoming hearing is scheduled on that matter.

Including this new settlement, Delaware has obtained settlements committing approximately $230 million in funds from companies that helped fuel the opioid epidemic.