Judge gives more time for Purdue Pharma settlement talks

A judge said he is extending legal protections for members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma by another three weeks to buy time to work out a new settlement to thousands of lawsuits over the opioid crisis

Members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma will get protection from lawsuits for another three weeks, a judge said Wednesday, buying more time to work out a settlement of thousands of legal claims against the company over the toll of opioids.

The protections had been set to expire Thursday, but U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain said in a hearing that they'd remain in place through March 23.

Also Wednesday, the mediator trying to broker a legal settlement between Purdue and a group of attorneys general said in a court filing that she would stay on the job, a possible sign that a deal to end the highest-profile litigation in the U.S. over the opioid epidemic is getting closer.

The hearing, conducted by video from Drain's courtroom in White Plains, New York, was light on details. No one objected to extending the deadline or gave updates on where talks stand. But Drain noted that when he appointed another federal bankruptcy judge, Shelley Chapman, as mediator on Jan. 3, she was given the power to extend her service unilaterally only for “involvement in any secondary or drafting terms.”