6/17/2025

MADISON - Attorney General Josh Kaul says he and 54 other attorneys general, representing states and U.S. territories, plan to move forward with a proposed $7.4 billion settlement agreement with Purdue Pharma and its owners.  The settlement would resolve litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers which owns the company for their alleged role in creating and worsening the opioid crisis across the country.  The settlement has not been finalized. The next step in the settlement process is that local governments across the country will be asked to join the settlement contingent on bankruptcy court proceedings.  The case alleges that Purdue made and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, leading to the largest drug crisis in U.S. history.  under the settlement, Wisconsin’s state and local governments would receive as much as $80.1 million from this settlement over the next 15 years.  Slightly over half of the settlement funds would be distributed in the first three years.