Kaul Rejects Settlement with Oxycontin

Josh Kaul. Photo courtesy of the State of Wisconsin.

On Wednesday, Purdue Pharma moved to tentatively settle with 23 states, as well as thousands of local governments and Native American tribes, all of which have blamed the company for playing a key role in the nation’s opioid addiction crisis.

Purdue is the manufacturer of Oxycontin. Owned by the Sackler family, Purdue has been fighting approximately 2,500 lawsuits from nearly every state and is pursuing a bankruptcy filing.The settlement includes an agreement that the Sacklers will exit the company and turn its operations over to trustees.

Wisconsin is not among those states that are part of the settlement, estimated to be up to $12 billion. And the settlement will still need the approval of creditors and a bankruptcy judge.

Attorney General Josh Kaul explained his reasons for not settling in a statement:

“The Sackler family has made billions of dollars from the sale of opioids,” said Kaul. “Wisconsin has alleged that two Purdue Pharma entities and Richard Sackler contributed to the opioid epidemic through unlawful conduct. We’re committed to getting justice and, in my view, Purdue’s current position doesn’t achieve that.”

Wisconsin’s case remains open and Kaul will continue to pursue what he believes is a just settlement for Wisconsin, Department of Justice spokesperson Gillian Drummond confirmed.

Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.