U.S. states seek $2.2 trillion from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma

REUTERS

U.S. states claimed they are owed $2.2 trillion to address harm from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP’s alleged role in America’s opioid epidemic, accusing the drugmaker in new filings of pushing prescription painkillers on doctors and patients while playing down the risks of abuse and overdose.

In filings made as part of Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings that were disclosed on Monday, the states said Purdue, backed by the wealthy Sackler family, contributed to a public health crisis that has claimed the lives of roughly 450,000 people since 1999 and caused strains on healthcare and criminal justice systems. The filings cited more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S. tied directly to prescription opioids between 1999 and 2016. read more »

Can Bitcoin Be Sued?

FORBES

The FBI, Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service are investigating hundreds of bitcoin transactions that funded Syria-based terrorist organizations posing as charity groups associated with al-Qaeda. A civil action was filed August 14. And in an intriguing move by the United States, the named defendants are not people or companies. The defendants are 155 bitcoin accounts.

Though the case is dubbed United States of America v. 155 Virtual Currency Assets, Uncle Sam has no plans to take piles of cryptocurrency to court. Rather, he aims to seize these assets in rem. As more and more cryptocurrency suits are filed, these types of cases will likely become all too familiar. Despite the seemingly high-stakes backstory of this case, in rem is a fairly common way to deal with asset forfeiture cases, and it could prove important to know as other alleged frauds involving cryptocurrency increasingly face their day in court. read more »