Dear USET/USET SPF Family,

For your awareness and optional action, we pass along an important notice to all Tribal Nations relating to the Purdue bankruptcy proceeding with a June 15, 2021 deadline. 

As you may be aware, Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy after being named as a plaintiff in thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company played a significant role in bringing about the national opioid epidemic. As part of the proposed bankruptcy plan, Tribal Nations will be entitled to payment of money to be used for opioid abatement purposes from two separate revenue streams: (1) a “Tribal Abatement Fund Trust,” which will be operated as a qualified settlement trust that will distribute certain amounts of cash paid to Tribal Nations as part of the bankruptcy, and (2) a limited liability corporation (LLC) created under the laws of Delaware that will distribute certain dividends and capital gains generated by the continued operation of the Purdue corporation after it emerges from the bankruptcy. 

For tax reasons, these dividend and capital gain revenues will be distributed to Tribal Nations through the LLC entity. Tribal Nations that do not opt out will be deemed by the bankruptcy court to be “members” of this state law LLC in order to receive their share of these revenues.

If you do nothing, your Tribal Nation will be deemed a “member” of the state law LLC and will receive its full distribution of the Purdue bankruptcy funds as described in the attached Notice. If your Tribal Nation does not wish to be deemed a member of the LLC, you must complete the Opt-Out Election Statement (provided in enclosed Notice) and return it to nato@browngreer.com no later than June 15, 2021.  

If you elect to opt out, your Tribal Nation will still receive its distribution from the Tribal Abatement Fund Trust, but will not receive any share of the distributions made by the LLC of profits from the new corporate entity. Please see the attached Notice for more information.

* USET SPF is not offering any opioid litigation legal advice, nor should this communication be construed to be offering any legal guidance. The sole purpose of this communication is to ensure that Tribal Nations are aware of an important upcoming deadline associated with the Purdue Pharma opioid settlement. For more information, please contact your legal counsel.