Nine state attorneys general have reached an agreement to withdraw their objection to a deal that grants immunity to members of the Sackler family, who own Purdue Pharma, from lawsuits related to the opioid crisis. In exchange, the Sackler family has agreed to increase their payment from personal holdings to $6 billion, up from the previous settlement amount of $4.5 billion. The terms of the new settlement have been hailed as a victory by Washington state Attorney General Robert Ferguson, who highlighted the substantial funds secured to address the opioid epidemic. This revised deal follows the overturning of the previous agreement by a federal judge in Manhattan and subsequent appeals by some states and the Justice Department.

While the Sackler family expresses regret and denies personal wrongdoing, critics, including many state attorneys general who approved the deal, allege that their aggressive marketing of opioids contributed to addiction and overdoses. Despite Purdue Pharma admitting criminal wrongdoing in separate plea agreements, the Sacklers themselves have not been charged. As part of a separate settlement, they agreed to pay $225 million to the Department of Justice in 2020. The revised deal is awaiting final approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, with the additional $1 billion intended for programs targeting the opioid crisis. However, there remains controversy surrounding the provision that shields the Sacklers from current and future lawsuits related to OxyContin and other Purdue pain medications. The case has highlighted mounting concerns about the opioid crisis, overdose prevention, and the Sackler family’s wealth.

What makes this story uniquely interesting to Process Servers  is that government agencies like the the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice uses process servers to serve the complaints in huge litigations like this one. Constable Court Services was give the contract to serve thousands of summons  in the opiod litigation that touched every state and involved Attorney Generals from across the nation. This honor gave Constable Court Services the ability to state they we where involved in the large collections of funds involving an industry in American history; and also the largest quanity of summons and subpoenas served by any process serving company in history.