The Latest: First hearing set on Purdue bankruptcy

The Latest on Purdue Pharmas bankruptcy filing (all times local):

4 p.m.

A judge will need to decide whether lawsuits against members of the Sackler family that owns Purdue Pharma can go ahead with the company seeking bankruptcy protection.

But at a hearing Tuesday in White Plains, New York, Judge Robert Drain is scheduled to consider routine matters such as whether the company can keep paying its taxes and utilities.

Several states are preparing to fight the company's bankruptcy plan, which includes a settlement deal that could be worth up to $12 billion.

States that oppose it say that members of the Sackler family need to be made to pay more than the $3 billion to $4.5 billion called for in the settlement.

The bankruptcy filing will at least pause more than 2,000 suits aiming to hold the company accountable for its role in the opioid crisis.

10 a.m.

The lead lawyers for local governments suing drug companies over the opioid crisis say the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy filing won't stop a trial scheduled for next month against other parts of the drug industry.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy late Sunday night as part of a settlement plan. Lead lawyers for the local governments suing the company and others support the settlement, as do attorneys general for about half the states.

Other states oppose the plan and say they'll fight it in court. The first court proceeding in Purdue's bankruptcy case is expected Tuesday in White Plains, New York.

The lawyers for the local governments say the first federal trial on the matter scheduled to start Oct. 21 in Cleveland should still move ahead.

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2 a.m.

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy protection.

But that doesn't mean the company or the family that owns it is off the legal hook.

States are divided on whether to accept a tentative settlement with the company as part of the bankruptcy.

Several of those who have declined it have made it clear that they plan to object to the bankruptcy and push forward with their claims against members of the Sackler family in state court.

It will be up to a bankruptcy judge to decide if those suits can move ahead. And even if he stops them, he could consider their claims in his court.

The bankruptcy filing Sunday will likely get Purdue out of a trial over the toll of opioids scheduled for October in Cleveland.

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Geoff Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

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