Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following joint statement after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the plan of reorganization for Purdue Pharma, the maker OxyContin, which would have released members of the Sackler family from liability for their role in the opioid crisis:

"We applaud yesterday’s district court decision striking down Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement. The bankruptcy system is supposed to work for everyone. But too often, it works best for billionaires like the Sackler family, who have not even filed for bankruptcy but attempted to twist the system to obtain blanket immunity for their wrongdoing.  Yesterday, a court recognized this grift for what it is: clearly unlawful and beyond the power of the bankruptcy court to approve. However, yesterday’s ruling was just that: one ruling.  It could be overturned on appeal, and many bankruptcy courts still permit the Sacklers’ abusive tactics. That is why Congress must pass the Nondebtor Release Prohibition Act, which would eliminate the bankruptcy loophole that bad actors like the Sackler abuse to hide their misdeeds, silence victims, and secure their ill-gotten payouts."