Krystal H

(Reuters) – Purdue Pharma seeks to appeal to U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the restructuring plan, which would have protected its owners against liability in opioid-related civil cases, was invalidated. A court filing from Thursday night shows this.

After U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain of White Plains, New York extended temporary protections for Purdue Pharma family members, Purdue Pharma and their families until February 1, against any opioid-related lawsuits, the Sacklers appealed.

Purdue appealed Drain’s Dec. 16 ruling. U.S. District Judge Colleen M. McMahon overturned Drain’s decision that released the Sackler family, a billionaire, from civil liability for opioid-related litigation in return for $4.5 billion.

In the court’s decision on the OxyContin maker’s bankruptcy settlement, McMahon found the bankruptcy court did not have authority to grant the release and had asked the appeals court to address whether such releases were legally acceptable.

Purdue claims in Thursday’s filing that the Bankruptcy Code allows non-consensual release of third parties in its case. The U.S. Trustee, which appealed Drain’s approval of the plan, does not oppose its ability appeal to the 2nd Circuit.

Purdue declared bankruptcy in September 2019, after a series of 3,000 lawsuits alleging that it and Sackler relatives contributed to a public-health crisis that claimed nearly 500,000 lives since 1999.