SB129: An Act To Amend Title 16 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Prescription Opioid Funds And Litigation Authority.

Legislative Summary

Senate Bill 166, passed in 2022, created the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund as part of an overall structure that would both maximize the monies paid by settling Opioids defendants to Delaware and to create a structure whereby those settlement monies could be managed and distributed on a statewide basis through a stakeholder-informed process. The complete legislation is found at Title 16 of the Delaware Code, Chapter 48B, Sections 4801B through 4809B. Chapter 48B applied to settlements with entities, and did not apply to bankruptcies. This is because the bankruptcy process itself extinguishes claims and thus provides the necessary global peace for settling parties. At the time SB 166 was passed, it was contemplated that, in the context of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, the Sackler family members would obtain this type of bankruptcy-style discharge and release. However, in the summer of 2024, the United States Supreme Court ruled that such a discharge was impermissible. This decision thus required that the states negotiate a non-bankruptcy settlement with the Sacklers, which the Delaware Department has since been pursuing diligently.