Supreme Court refuses to hear opioid case involving OxyContin makers

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case Monday that accused Purdue Pharma of moving billions of dollars in an effort to shield them from a spate of pending lawsuits over the popular opioid painkiller OxyContin.

The state argued in the suit Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family, has transferred about $6 billion over the past decade, which it says violates a fraud statute.

The high court refused to hear the case without comment.

Purdue Pharma filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September as part of a deal valued at $10 billion and included $3 billion from the Sackler family to settle more than 2,000 opioid lawsuits.

Although a bankruptcy judge granted the Sackler family temporary legal protection, the state argued, it didn't apply to its appeal to the Supreme Court.

Purdue Pharma is facing lawsuits in nearly every state, accused of fueling the U.S. opioid crisis for profit by aggressively marketing the drugs while downplaying the risks.