As Purdue Pharma LP and its creditors pushed the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to bless liability releases granted to members of the Sackler family who own it, a skeptical Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it was the owners themselves who created the necessity in the first place by withdrawing billions of dollars from the business before its bankruptcy.

During oral arguments on the permissibility of nondebtor, third-party releases in bankruptcy, Justice Jackson took issue with Purdue’s position that the liability shield, which was granted in exchange for $6 billion in contributions from the Sacklers to the estate, was necessary to implement a settlement with opioid victims and confirm the company’s Chapter 11 plan.

Her specific concern related to the Sacklers’ offshoring of more than $10 billion of assets from Purdue in the years before it filed for Chapter 11, and then seeking a release of liability without themselves filing for bankruptcy and avoiding the need to lay their assets “on the table.”

“[My] understanding is not only are they not doing that, but most of the assets we’re talking about were originally in the company, and they actually took the assets from the company, which started the set of circumstances in which the company now doesn’t have enough money to pay the creditors,” Justice Jackson said.

Her point boiled down to the theory that the Sacklers are buying releases from Purdue with Purdue’s own money. She asked Purdue’s counsel why this situation would be allowed to occur even if the court doesn’t outright bar third-party releases.

Gregory G. Garre of Latham & Watkins LLP, representing Purdue, said nearly half the money transferred to the Sacklers in recent years went to cover tax liability, and that of the remaining 60%, the $6 billion being contributed to the plan amounts to 97% of the funds.

He also said the location and structure of trusts that hold most of the assets would present difficulties in trying to recover funds for the benefit of creditors.

“If this settlement doesn’t go forward then these victims would likely, even if they prevailed on their claims, present serious issues about being able to collect on them at the end of the day,” Garre argued.

But Justice Jackson didn’t buy that argument, saying the difficulty in collecting was a result of the Sacklers’ own actions in taking the money overseas.

“It’s not like by operation of law it’s necessary to [grant these releases],” she countered. “It is necessary to do this because the Sacklers have taken the money and are not willing to give it back unless they get this condition.”

Among the criteria necessary for non-consensual, third-party releases to be approved is a showing that they are necessary to the restructuring. Justice Amy Coney Barrett chimed in with support for Justice Jackson’s point, saying that the percentages of assets used to pay taxes and then to pay for the release contribution are important figures in the argument, but that the money still came from the company.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 to handle its liability for the opioid crisis arising from its sale and marketing of the powerful painkiller OxyContin. Its Chapter 11 plan was confirmed two years later and included releases for the Sacklers, which the bankruptcy court found were necessary to implement the restructuring. The Sacklers contributed $4.325 billion under the original plan. When a New York federal judge overturned the plan, finding the releases to be impermissible, the Sacklers increased their contributions to up to $6 billion.

On further appeal, the Second Circuit reversed the district court ruling, and the Office of the U.S. Trustee sought review by the high court.

Purdue is represented by Gregory G. Garre, Charles S. Dameron and Eric J. Konopka of Latham & Watkins LLP and Marshall S. Huebner, Benjamin S. Kaminetzky, Marc J. Tobak and Garrett L. Cardillo of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

The official committee of unsecured creditors is represented by Mitchell P. Hurley, Arik Y. Preis, Sara L. Brauner, Pratik A. Shah, Z.W. Julius Chen and Lide E. Paterno of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Petitioner U.S. Trustee William K. Harrington is represented by Elizabeth B. Prelogar, Brian M. Boynton, Curtis E. Gannon, Masha G. Hansford, Michael S. Raab, Michael Shih, Sean R. Janda, Lawrence H. Fogelman, Peter Aronoff and Benjamin H. Torrance of the U.S. Department of Justice and Ramona D. Elliott, Nan Roberts Eitel, P. Matthew Sutko, Beth A. Levene and Sumi K. Sakata of the Executive Office of the U.S. Trustee.

The case is William K. Harrington v. Purdue Pharma LP et al., case number 23-124, in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1773229?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-12-05&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=2?copied=1

The post How The Sacklers Took $10B out of Purdue Pharma and Used It to Buy Themselves Immunity from Liability for the Opioid Epidemic appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

A recent and large Palm Beach County med mal verdict brings to mind the case of Bethany Morris in our office – a little girl scheduled for office surgery to remove a port wine stain from her face. A “dental block” was applied as an anesthetic but the surgeon had no oxygen to help deal with the subsequent complications. She died as a result. The trial lawyer in Palm Beach summed it up well.

“This is a scenario where a physician did not appropriately screen or monitor a patient while simultaneously prescribing massive amounts of narcotics …”

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1719065?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-09-08&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=1?copied=1

The post Fla. Jury Hits Doc With $20M Verdict Over Dilaudid Death appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Purdue Pharma LP Chapter 11 plan that contains as a key feature the settlement with the Sackler family for approximately $6 billion that, in return, prevents any other creditor from suing the family.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1716196?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-09-01&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=13?copied=1

The post Sackler Immunity and the Purdue Pharma Settlement appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

In a 49-page opinion comparing the saga to both a traditional opera and a TV soap opera, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Philip J. Ignelzi said that while rival doctors Jonathan D’Cunha and Lara Schaheen may have surreptitiously recorded Dr. James Luketich as he discussed his suboxone prescription with his doctor in a surgical observation room in February 2018, he could not have expected the conversation to be secret and protected from disclosure under Pennsylvania’s law against wiretapping. Suboxone is a combination of a narcotic pain medication with an opioid blocker and is used to treat opiate addiction.

“As established by additional circumstantial evidence and inference, the backdoor to room G212 was open to some degree during the entirety of the conversation,” Judge Ignelzi said in his opinion. Finding that Luketich did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, Judge Ignelzi concluded that “there was no violation of the Pennsylvania Wiretap Act.”

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1698827?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-07-13&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=14?copied=1

The post Surgeon’s Recorded OR Conversation About His Suboxone Prescription Is Admissible appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

An Arizona appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit alleging a urologist negligently prescribed an antibiotic that caused harmful side effects to a patient, saying medical expert testimony was not required because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a “black box” warning about the drug.

Read more at: https://www.law360.com/personal-injury-medical-malpractice/articles/1680721?nl_pk=029cff45-637f-44e3-babf-75563f8e0bfd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personal-injury-medical-malpractice&utm_content=2023-05-24&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=5?copied=1

The post FDA Black Box Warnings appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

Shortages of critical medications continue to rise—including drugs used in hospital emergency rooms and to treat cancer, prescription medications, and even common over-the-counter treatments like children’s cold and flu medicine. The number of active drug shortages in the U.S. reached a peak of 295 at the end of 2022. However, drug shortages are not a new problem. They are caused by a number of factors, including economic drivers, insufficient supply chain visibility, and a continued U.S. overreliance on both foreign and geographically concentrated sources for medications and their raw materials. These shortages have cascading effects on patient care, causing delays in treatment, increasing the risk of medication errors, and requiring the use of less effective alternative treatments. Hospitals have also experienced increased costs, medication waste, and limited staffing capacity to address and remedy shortages.

Here is the link:

SHORT SUPPLY The Health and National Security Risks of Drug Shortages

The post Homeland Security Report on Severe Drug Shortages in the US appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 5, 2019 Opioid Manufacturer Insys Therapeutics Agrees to Enter $225 Million Global Resolution of Criminal and Civil Investigations

The post Insys $250M Opioid Penalty for Quality Fraud appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

Our latest surveys of pharmacists, patients and providers to inform the upcoming 2023 Medication Access Report, support this. The surveys found that patients and care teams need faster medication access, greater affordability options and improved visibility at three critical junctions: the provider office, pharmacy counter and via tools patients can access directly.

Here’s the story in the journal Medical Economics

The 3 critical places where patients need support with their medications

The post Barriers To Quality Healthcare and How to Overcome Them appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

High LDL-C is inversely associated with mortality in most people over 60 years. This finding is inconsistent with the cholesterol hypothesis.

You can find the BMJ study here:

Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review

While guidance for prescribing statins remains unchanged, more and more questions are being asked. The influence of Big Pharma on these decisions cannot be understated. Statin use is now so prevalent that a cottage industry has built up around studying their side effects. Dr. David Healy is a conscientious and responsible professional to follow if you are interested in the effects of Big Pharma on the FDA. Here is one of his excellent articles on the subject of randomized controlled trials and how they are run.

The Evidence that Counts for FDA

The post Hey, Pharma: What if cholesterol is not related to serious heart disease? Would you even tell us? appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.

In 2018, the state filed a complaint against J&J, alleging the company misrepresented their opioids as safer than other alternatives in their aggressive marketing campaign to prescribers and patients in New Hampshire. The state further alleged that J&J misrepresented their opioids as rarely addictive, negligently promoted the concept of pseudoaddiction, and disseminated of misleading statements regarding their opioids.

The link is here:

New Hampshire Announces J&J Opioid Settlements

The post More Opioid Settlements appeared first on The Thompson Law Firm.