Toby Talbot/AP file
- A narrow 5-4 ruling from Supreme Court justices resulted in Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy plan being nixed.
- Its owners, the Sacklers, won't get broad protection from lawsuits they wanted in exchange for billions.
- The decision may imperil other big settlements that involve creative uses of bankruptcy law.
The US Supreme Court has struck down a $7 billion bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma that would have protected the Sackler family from further lawsuits — a ruling that could mean "chaos" for other big legal liability cases.
Purdue's drugs, primarily OxyContin, were one the biggest contributors to the opioid crisis that sickened and killed thousands of Americans. Purdue was set to be converted into a nonprofit devoted to fighting the opioid crisis.