Utah and Several States Reach Tentative Agreement To Settle Opioid Liability Against Sackler Family Behind OxyContin

Utah is expected to receive $57 million more to combat the state’s opioid epidemic

January 23, 2025

Salt Lake City, UT—Several states have announced an agreement in principle to settle lawsuits across the country over opioid harms and abate the injuries in our communities. The proposed agreement amounts to $7.4 billion from the Sacklers and their former company, Purdue Pharma. Utah, through the Office of the Utah Attorney General (OAG) and the Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection (DCP), expects to join the settlement and would likely receive $57 million. 

The Sackler family will pay $6.5 billion over the next 15 years, and around $900 million will come from Purdue Pharma when it emerges from bankruptcy protection. Purdue Pharma’s lobbying and marketing efforts will be limited and monitored as part of the settlement. Under the settlement terms, the Sackler’s control of Purdue Pharma will end, and they are restricted from selling opioids in the United States. 

“The opioid epidemic has ravaged families and communities across Utah, leaving a trail of heartbreak and loss. Too many lives have been stolen, and too many families have been shattered,” said Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox. “This settlement will not bring back those we’ve lost, but it will provide critical resources to help those struggling with addiction and prevent future tragedies. We are committed to using these funds to support treatment, prevention, and education efforts and to build a brighter, healthier future for all Utahns.”

Should Utah join the settlement, the state is expected to receive $57 million—resources that will be used by the state and local communities to mitigate the impact of the opioid epidemic on Utahns. 

“Too many Utahns have been harmed by the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma’s disregard for human life. My Office has traveled across the country on behalf of Utah families to ensure that these families receive justice, and we have collaborated with other state attorneys general to make this settlement possible. After I have reviewed the final written settlement, I anticipate Utah will join it, thereby ensuring that Utah families see the justice they deserve, and will encourage other states to do so as well,” said Attorney General Derek Brown. “As Attorney General, I am unwavering in my commitment to fight against the companies that have unleashed this scourge on Utah communities, and I am committed to continuing the fight for Utah families and our children against illicit opioid and fentanyl use.”

Utah worked on securing this resolution alongside the attorneys general of New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and many other states. 

This recent settlement would be in addition to the $540 million the state will receive from other settlements that have already been agreed upon. $275 million will go to the state, and $265 million will go to the counties. The state will use the settlement funds to help fund the Utah Opioid Task Force and continue addressing the opioid epidemic in our communities. 

DCP, represented by the OAG, filed an administrative action against Purdue Pharma, Richard Sackler, and Kathe Sackler in 2019. Despite a complex bankruptcy proceeding that has taken years, DCP has continued to preserve and pursue its allegations that Purdue knew that OxyContin had a high risk of addiction and concealed this from consumers, marketing it as less prone to abuse than other painkillers. That action sought to hold Purdue accountable for its aggressive and deceptive marketing campaign that fueled a deadly growth of opioid prescriptions nationwide and in Utah. This litigation by Utah and other states requires the Sacklers to pay to address the harms they knowingly unleashed.

“Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family caused immense harm and innumerable lives lost through their deceptive marketing and greed. The Utah Department of Commerce, through the Division of Consumer Protection, never stopped its work to hold Purdue and the Sacklers accountable for what they have done and the devastation they have caused,” said Utah Department of Commerce Executive Director Margaret Woolley Busse. 

Between 2002 and 2015, the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed in Utah increased by over one million, and from 2013 to 2015, Utah was ranked 7th in the country for prescription drug poisoning deaths. As these addictive pills harmed Utahns, Purdue gave almost $200,000 to Utah prescribers between 2013 and 2017.  

Utah has acutely felt the impact of the opioid crisis. According to data from the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner, prescription opioids were responsible for the deaths of 1,611 people in the state between 2014 and 2019. The most recent data from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services report 606 drug overdose deaths in 2023, and 27.9% of those deaths involved at least one prescription opioid, with many lost to heroin and fentanyl overdose deaths that began with prescription opioid abuse.

The opioid epidemic has also been a drain on resources in Utah. According to the American Enterprise Institute, the non-fatal opioid costs to the state are $1,827 per person or around $524 million for a single year (2015). 

The OAG has worked shoulder to shoulder with other attorneys general across the country, pursuing legal claims and negotiating to hold the manufacturers, distributors, pharmacists, and now the Sackler family accountable. Previous settlement agreements were reached with Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger, CVS, Publicis Health, McKinsey, Cardinal, Johnson & Johnson, Allergan, Teva, McKesson, Amerisource Bergen, and Mallinckrodt.  In December of 2024, the OAG and DCP filed their most recent litigation against the pharmacy benefit managers, who played a covert role in the opioid crisis by acting as intermediaries between manufacturers, pharmacies, insurance companies, payers, and patients.