Sackler family protected from opioid lawsuits

A federal appeals court cleared the way for the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of legal claims tied to the opioid epidemic while shielding the wealthy owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, from future lawsuits. Under the plan approved Tuesday, members of the wealthy Sackler family would give up ownership of Purdue, which would become a new company known as Knoa, with its profits being sent to a fund to prevent and treat addiction.