Supreme Court Ends OxyContin Settlement, Cracking Sackler Shield

The US Supreme Court tossed Purdue Pharma LP’s $6 billion opioid settlement, nixing a deal that would have funded opioid epidemic relief efforts in exchange for protecting the company’s billionaire owners from lawsuits alleging they helped fuel the addiction crisis.

The 5-4 ruling opens a new chapter of uncertainty for Purdue by ruling that the accord would improperly shield its owners, members of the billionaire Sackler family. They had agreed to give up ownership of the company — the maker of painkiller OxyContin — and pay as much as $6 billion.

More broadly, the ruling upends a key tool ...