Irve Goldman Talks to Redding Sentinel About Role in Purdue Pharma Opioid Case

Irve Goldman, chair of Pullman & Comley’s Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights and Financial Restructuring practice, was featured in an article in the Redding Sentinel about his role in the opposition by Connecticut, seven other states, and the District of Columbia to the bankruptcy plan of Purdue Pharma and the later settlement they achieved after getting the plan's approval overturned on appeal.

The Stamford-based drug maker Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019, and in August 2021 a federal bankruptcy judge judgment approved its reorganization plan with third-party releases in favor of the Sacklers. In exchange for the releases, the Sackler family agreed to contribute $4.3 billion to creditors of Purdue, including states, over a number of years. Connecticut and other states successfully appealed the ruling to an intermediate federal appeals court and while Purdue’s appeal to an even higher appeals court was pending, Connecticut and the other opposition states reached a settlement with the Sacklers which required them to contribute an additional $1.7 billion to the plan for the releases they wanted.  A substantial part of that additional funding goes directly to the opposition states.  

However, in August 2023, the federal agency responsible for overseeing the bankruptcy case got the Supreme Court to stay that ruling and hear the case. The feds objected to the third-party release, a provision in the plan that would shield Purdue Pharma’s owners – members of the Sackler family – from liability for their role in the opioid epidemic. As a result, the case will now be aired by the U.S. Supreme Court, currently on the docket for December. 

“Until then Purdue’s plan with the settlement is stayed,” said Irve, who has lived in Redding for 30 years.  “After a number of mediation sessions, we were able to settle the case, resulting in billions of dollars in funding that would go to victims and all 50 states as well as portion that would go just to the opposition states. But the outcome will hinge on the Supreme Court’s ruling.”

To read the full article, visit the Redding Sentinel website.