New York Attorney General Letitia James has obtained court approval for Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan, following a bench ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane. The decision marks an important step in finalizing a $7.4 billion settlement between Purdue, its owners the Sackler family, and states across the country for their involvement in the opioid crisis.
“For decades, the Sacklers ran Purdue with one goal in mind: maximizing profits for their family, no matter the cost,” said Attorney General James. “Purdue was at the very center of the opioid crisis, fueling addictions and overdoses with deceptive marketing and sales tactics. While no amount of money will ever fully reverse the damage they caused, securing this bankruptcy plan brings us one step closer to delivering critical funding to communities impacted by the opioid crisis.”
The approved bankruptcy plan removes the Sackler family from any future involvement with Purdue Pharma. The company will be owned by an independent nonprofit foundation overseen by a new board of directors. Under court order, Purdue remains prohibited from marketing its opioid products or using opioid sales metrics for compensation purposes; it is also barred from lobbying on opioids. A court-appointed monitor will continue to ensure compliance with these restrictions.
Any excess revenue generated by Purdue after operating expenses will be distributed to state and local governments as well as to support opioid abatement efforts through the foundation.
In January 2025, Attorney General James announced that New York would receive up to $250 million as part of a larger $7.4 billion settlement package intended to fund addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery programs over 15 years. The first payment—$1.5 billion from the Sacklers and about $900 million from Purdue—is expected in early 2026 pending final settlement approval. Additional payments are scheduled over subsequent years.
The agreement has broad support: 55 attorneys general representing all eligible states and U.S. territories have signed on, along with approximately 9,300 local governments.
Including this latest settlement, New York has secured more than $3 billion from various pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors linked to their roles in the opioid epidemic. Companies involved include Mylan, Indivior, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt, Allergan, Endo International plc (now known as Endo), McKesson Corporation (https://www.mckesson.com/), Cardinal Health (https://www.cardinalhealth.com/), and AmerisourceBergen (now Cencora) (https://www.cencora.com/). Additionally, settlements were reached with CVS Health (https://cvshealth.com/), Walgreens Boots Alliance (https://www.walgreensbootsalliance.com/), Walmart Inc., consulting firm McKinsey & Company (https://www.mckinsey.com/), and marketing firm Publicis Health (https://publicishealth.com/) for their roles in failing to properly regulate or promoting opioids.
Attorney General James was joined in this settlement by attorneys general from all states except Oklahoma as well as representatives from several U.S. territories including American Samoa; District of Columbia; Guam; Northern Mariana Islands; Puerto Rico; and U.S. Virgin Islands.
The legal team handling this matter for New York included First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy along with several special counsels and assistant attorneys general across divisions such as Consumer Frauds Bureau and Health Care Bureau—with additional support provided by research analysts and technology specialists within the office.
