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(Reuters) - A New York federal judge said she's had enough with a 'deluge of letters' in the Purdue Pharma appeal.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan on Thursday told lawyers involved in appeals of a deal providing legal protections for the Sackler family members that owned Purdue Pharma to stop sending her letters as the appeals get underway.
"The deluge of letters has begun," the judge said in a written response to the letters. "It stops now. I will not allow this matter to be litigated by letter. So stop writing them. I am not going to read them."
The letters, sent by various creditor groups and the U.S. Trustee, which serves as the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog, raise issues over who, exactly, should be allowed to participate in the appeals process. The appeals challenge protections for the Sackler family members against future opioid-related civil litigation.
McMahon said the lawyers need to stick to "proper procedure" and quit plying her with letters over who is a proper party in the appeals.
The appeals of the September ruling approving Purdue’s plan and underlying settlement come from a handful of states and the U.S. Trustee, which serves as the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog. The settlement contained the legal shield for the Sacklers, who contributed about $4.5 billion to the deal.
A status conference on the appeals is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon before McMahon.
Some letters came from groups of creditors and government entities that were not listed as parties in the appeal but believe they should be in light of their support of the settlement during the bankruptcy case. On Wednesday, the U.S. Trustee responded by saying those groups should not be allowed to intervene in the appeals without a formal motion and permission from the court.
Though the dispute is largely procedural, allowing those groups to intervene in the appeals would boost Purdue's support in keeping the plan and settlement intact.
The judge wrote on the appeals docket that she would consider the matter at Tuesday’s conference. She also warned the lawyers that she does not want to see similar disputes raised regularly.
“This is an appeal, folks, not a second [plan] confirmation hearing,” she wrote.
Whether McMahon ultimately oversees the appeal is uncertain at this point as the U.S. Trustee and appealing states are asking that their challenge be sent directly to the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, skipping over the federal district court level.
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 to resolve thousands of lawsuits accusing it and the Sackler family members who owned the OxyContin maker of fueling the U.S. opioid crisis through deceptive marketing of its products. The Sacklers have denied wrongdoing.
The case is In re Purdue Pharma LP, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 21-07966.
For Purdue: Marshall Huebner, Benjamin Kaminetzky, Timothy Graulich, Eli Vonnegut and James McClammy of Davis Polk & Wardwell; and Paul Breene, Ann Kramer, Anthony Crawford and Lisa Szymanski of Reed Smith
For the U.S. Trustee: Trial attorney Andy Velez-Rivera
Read more:
States to seek direct appeal of Purdue Pharma plan to 2nd Circuit
DOJ appeals Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal, aims to pause approval order
Judge will approve Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan that shields Sacklers
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