![FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin made by Purdue Pharma LP on a counter at a local pharmacy in Provo](https://freeamericanetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/purdue-pharma-judge-extends-sacklers-litigation-shield-to-feb-17.jpg)
FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin pills, made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a counter at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S., April 25, 2017. REUTERS/George Frey
February 1, 2022
(Reuters) – A U.S. judge extended on Tuesday a legal shield protecting the Sackler family owners of Purdue Pharma from lawsuits to Feb. 17 as they try to reach a deal with several U.S. states to settle sprawling litigation stemming from the country’s opioid crisis.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware)