The Supreme Court says not so fast to a massive settlement over opioids.

From Marketplace, I'm Sabrina Schor in for David Brunkachio.

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a settlement with Purdue Pharma that would

protect the Sackler family, which owns Purdue, from being sued in civil court over opioid

damages.

Marketplace's Samantha Fields has more.

Hi Sam, so just to start to remind us about the settlement.

Yeah, so Sabrina, Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in 2019,

after being sued by thousands of people for its role in the opioid crisis.

It reached a deal last year that would allow it to restructure and emerge from bankruptcy

effectively as a new company that would use its profits to fight the opioid epidemic.

As part of the deal, members of the Sackler family, which owned Purdue, would put $6 billion

into a fund for people who have been hurt by the opioid crisis and for state and local

governments that are dealing with it, but they would also be protected from all future

lawsuits.

Hi, for example, family members of people who've died of opioid overdoses.

So why did the Supreme Court block this deal?

The Justice Department had objected to the settlement, particularly the part that would

shield the Sacklers from future liability.

The Supreme Court has now agreed to hear arguments later this year over whether the deal

can move forward.

The central question is whether US bankruptcy code allows people who are not personally

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