Mass tort bankruptcies experienced significant challenges in 2023, notably with two cases being dismissed outright and two more teetering at the precipice of uncertainty. Law.com reports that one of the dismissals involved the pharmaceutical corporation Purdue Pharma, whose founders, the Sacklers, found themselves facing the U.S. Supreme Court.
Deliberations on Dec. 4 focused on the release of liability granted to the Sacklers as a component of Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan, which is valued at $6 billion. The result of this case is poised to have implications for other bankruptcy cases, such as one involving the Boy Scouts of America’s Chapter 11 plan expected in 2024.
This series of events represents potential shifts in the legal landscape surrounding mass tort bankruptcies, suggesting that the upcoming year may bring with it further disruptions and uncertainty in this sphere of the law.